At a Rocky View County (RVC) Council meeting on May 28, council heard a presentation from RVC Planning supervisor Steve Altena about the Springbank Area Structure Plan (ASP) Options Report.
For background, Springbank is composed of three different ASP’s according to Altena: the Moddle ASP, Central Springbank ASP, and North Springbank ASP. North Springbank spans over 4,000 acres in size, Moddle is 160 acres, and Central Springbank is roughly 22,000 acres. All support residential use, and the North Springbank ASP supports commercial use.
According to the report, RVC administration received community engagement metrics on a proposed Springbank ASP in June 2023 that were presented to RVC Governance Committee members in Jan. 2024.
Due to several concerns being raised in the community engagement report about confusing ASP documents, committee members directed RVC administration to consider the plausibility of a single, unified, or streamlined Springbank ASP with maintained land use strategies according to the report.
Altena said administration seeks direction from council on how any revisions should be implemented to the three existing Springbank ASP’s in response to committee direction in January, and he presented three options:
Option one directly addresses the committee’s idea of a unified Springbank ASP by simply bringing the Moddle ASP, Central Springbank ASP, and North Springbank ASP into one holistic document. However, option one runs into some issues.
According to Altena, option one would face certain problems with merging documents due to policy incompatibility, and the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) would need to approve the merge of the existing Springbank ASP’s before any action could be taken.
Option two, the most desirable for administration according to Altena, highlights a merger of only the Moddle ASP and Central Springbank ASP along with revisions to policy to bring them fully up to speed together. The report proposes that the North Springbank ASP would remain its own ASP aside from the merger to ease further amendments and address the negatives of option one.
Option three proposes a rescindment of the project and for the existing ASPs to remain in place without amendments. However, the report explains that option three would eliminate the opportunity for outstanding amendments to be addressed.
Following the conclusion of Altena’s presentation, Division 4 Councillor Samanntha Wright inquired about CMRB regulations.
“I’m a little confused,” she said, “I think at the governance committee meeting it was stated that merging them (ASPs) and creating one would not require CMRB approval, but now, we are saying it does require CMRB approval; how did we get to that conclusion?”
Altena explained that the Springbank ASP options had been fully discussed with the CMRB, and they felt that a regional evaluation framework application would be required in order for a full merge of all three existing ASPs to occur due to the vastness of Springbank’s ASPs.
“How do you feel option two reflects the feedback you received?” asked Wright, as she felt concerned about the Citizen Satisfaction Survey that shows RVC residents are frustrated with council action in response to feedback.
The primary feedback administration received involved a strong desire among residents to maintain land use strategies and two-acre parcel sizes according to Altena. He added that option one and option two effectively meet this criteria, but option two would not create a holistic and digestible document.
Division 2 Coun. and Deputy Reeve Don Kochan, who represents the Springbank area on council, exclaimed that residents feel a strong need for a streamlined ASP in Springbank, but he expressed his concerns with what option one could potentially induce.
“If we have to put them through another community engagement, that should be considered torture,” Kochan said with a laugh. “We’ve heard their feedback, and they’re very clear as far as what that is.”
Kochan further expressed that RVC administration should stand their ground with the CMRB as experts on the Springbank ASPs. He felt it was important to acknowledge the needs of the community, and that option one would be the best fit.
Council voted unanimously for administration to revise the Springbank Area Structure Plan to include the Moddle ASP, Central Springbank ASP, and North Springbank ASP into one while maintaining the direction of current land use strategies.
RVC administration will present the amended Springbank ASP to RVC Council before the end of the fourth quarter.