Regional planning board asking for resident input

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Regional planning across the Calgary metropolitan region is being solidified with the help of public input, but these efforts may or may not benefit local municipalities, depending on who you ask.

The Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) was established through regulation passed by the NDP-led provincial government in 2017. The regulation mandates the participation of seven urban municipalities, including Strathmore, and three rural municipalities, including a western section of Wheatland County.

The mandate of the board is to promote the long-term sustainability of the region by ensuring “environmentally responsible” land-use planning, growth management and efficient land use; coordinating infrastructure investment and service delivery; and promoting the region’s economy. These efforts are deemed necessary because the region is expected to gain another million residents over the next 20 years or so.

Historically, regionalization has proved to yield economic benefits, said Town of Strathmore Councillor Bob Sobol. “Once you start talking about economics, it really starts opening some eyes and opening some doors for people … because that’s what our region is looking for: economic stability and progress,” he said. “It’s not going to happen tomorrow – it’s a long-term plan.”

Planning as a region is important, said Town of Strathmore Mayor Pat Fule. “Together, our municipalities are working to identify opportunities and efficiencies to reduce the cost of growth and support the long-term economic, environmental and social prosperity of all the communities in the Calgary region,” he said. “When we work together, all our communities benefit, not just one.”

Employing a collaborative approach with neighbouring municipalities has already proved beneficial to Strathmore, said Fule. “Working cooperatively helped to bring EPCOR water services into Strathmore. This is a perfect example of how working together can help to improve services and make us more efficient.”

Water, both in terms of supply and stormwater management, is also a major focus of the board, explained Sobol. “Water is an issue in the southern part of this province, and it’s going to take a lot of work to deal with it,” he said. “It makes a big difference when instead of working in silos and focusing on your own water issues, you’re thinking about the problem regionally. It’s more than a benefit; it’s necessary. There are solutions, but they’re going to have to be regional solutions.”

In terms of service delivery, one of the main focus points of the board is regional transportation and transit corridors, which is important to Strathmore because many residents commute to Calgary for work and to access services, said Fule. “A long-term goal for the region is to be able to support growth with strong transportation and transit options,” he said.

While regionalized transportation is something many would like to see, it has to be feasible and done in a way that is financially responsible, said Sobol. “It’s got to make sense, both in regards to common sense and in regards to dollars,” he said.

The CMRB currently assesses statutory plans with regional significance through a tool called the interim regional evaluation framework (IREF). Member municipalities must refer to the board for all new municipal development plans (MDPs), intermunicipal development plans (IDPs), all new area redevelopment plans (ARPs) and area structure plans (ASPs) that propose employment areas and/or 50 or more residential units, any proposed amendments to MDPs, IDPs, ARPs and ASPs that propose employment areas and/or 50 residential units, and new or amended plans for developments with less than 50 dwelling units that are located within 1.6 kilometres of an adjacent municipality or notification area, unless they are contained within an IDP.

The IREF is focused on “ensuring that growth is done with the region in mind – respect for your neighbours and there’s some planning done in terms of regionalization,” said Sobol.

Wheatland County’s West Highway 1 ASP, which borders Strathmore, was submitted through the IREF process for evaluation and approval.

Wheatland’s component of the Calgary metropolitan region (CMR) is an approximately 87,000-acre (approximately eight per cent of its land area) rectangle centred around Strathmore, the extent of which is established by the provincial regulation, and hence was determined by the former NDP government.

While regional planning can be beneficial to land use decisions across multiple local jurisdictions, Wheatland County’s portion in the CMR provides little return to ratepayers that live in and/or own businesses within it, said Reeve Amber Link.

“The overarching jurisdiction that the CMRB has through the regulation (in accordance with the [Municipal Government Act]) makes no regional sense, and the county is not in favour of this membership decision,” she said, in a statement.

“In particular, the voting structure of the board significantly impacts the autonomy of municipalities, as the City of Calgary essentially has a veto vote on all matters before the board.” 

Under the CMRB regulation, if a decision is to be made by a vote, the decision must be supported by at least two thirds of the representatives from member municipalities that have at least two thirds of the population in the CMR. The City of Calgary accounts for approximately 90 per cent of the CMR’s total population, based on 2015 figures. Also, if a representative is not present for a vote, their vote is considered to be a “yes” vote.

“The only reason we’re in this is so that there’s a corridor between us and Strathmore, because Strathmore wants to be in this,” said Wheatland County Division 4 Councillor Tom Ikert. “The reason we go to these meetings is to protect our interests. We’ve seen the 30-year plan, and there’s nothing that gets out to Strathmore – no transportation, or anything like that.”

The county spends $125,000 per year to attend the meetings, “because if we’re not there, it’s a yes vote for Calgary,” said Ikert. “So, we go there. We’re diligent about it. We want to protect ourselves.”

Given these concerns, advocacy to have the county removed from the board or to change the structure of the board has been ongoing, said Link.

To support the board’s mandate, it is required to create two documents, a regional growth plan and regional servicing plan, three years after its inception, by Jan. 1, 2021. Once completed, these plans will replace the IREF.

The plans will be developed by incorporating the views of its residents and ratepayers through a public survey. “Engagement activities are underway and will provide CMR ratepayers and stakeholders the opportunity to both understand what these plans are all about, and to provide input that will be incorporated into the plan in unique and creative ways,” said Link.

The survey asks respondents their views on what factors should be considered in growth planning (e.g. economic development, water stewardship, responsible land use, etc.), and what growth and development outcomes they prefer (e.g. denser urban growth, less urban encroachment on rural areas, more property tax revenue per acre, etc.). The survey, available on the CMRB website (cmrbgrowthplan.ca), is active until Sept. 4.