As a resident of Rock View County (RVC) I and many other residents of RVC vigorously oppose this change in Bylaw as it will clearly impact existing residents in the near future with dramatically increased density and existing poorly conceived, planned and developed road, water, wastewater, school and emergency service infrastructure. These types of increased densities are not suitable without implementation of regional planning to provide integrated infrastructure planning between urban development and the Town of Cochrane (TOC) and RVC. This proposed Bylaw change applies to a single quarter section, but notification of this change was sent to residents of eight other quarter sections clearly indicating that RVC will subsequently extend this Bylaw to impact hundreds if not thousands of residents.
None of the existing residents have requested this change. The rationale of the RVC is quite clear, which is to increase density and property tax while ignoring planning and infrastructure development to adequately provide safe infrastructure.
The current infrastructure in and around Cochrane is dangerous with temporary roads not able to cope with light, heavy and industrial traffic with endless band aid transportation downgrades (theoretical upgrades) which don’t address the problem, just move it down the road where the problem is even worse. The existing transportation system/network, surrounding this proposed development, is more than two decades old with little to any meaningful improvement of the local transportation infrastructure but with closure of several local key transportation routes.
Several of the communities within the RVC and Cochrane now have only one route for access and egress for thousands of residents. This has produced extraordinary unsafe congestion and is actively degrading public safety for the existing residents let alone the addition of high-density developments. These postage stamp developments without a commitment to integrated regional planning produce this outcome with the Administration, Council and Reeve failing to represent the existing residents or address the chronic problem, hazard and risk to all. We have already seen multiple serious motor vehicle accidents (MVA) with serious life-threatening injuries to the public. In just the past few months the public has witnessed MVA’s requiring the closure of highways to facilitate helicopter evacuation (STARS) of seriously injured people. It is just a matter of time for additional fatalities if there haven’t already been numerous fatalities. The process which the RVC has utilized for public consultation, in this particular change of Bylaw, emphasizes how the Administration/Council demonstrates the RVC and Council has developed and implemented a public consultation process which is designed to produce the illusion of public consultation with RVC not committed to transparency or community engagement.
The RVC Council has developed an exceptionally skillful process to produce this outcome: this notice of public hearing date December 23rd 2024 with written engagement closing January 8th 2025, facilitating about eight meaningful days for public consultation with the RVC and administration (13 days prior to the public hearing.) The synchronization of this Public Hearing and communication process for residents taking place over the Christmas New Years holiday is not a coincidence and demonstrates the commitment of the RVC to limit public engagement to the smallest window possible to successfully minimize community engagement. This a mockery to public engagement within RVC. Mr. Logan Cox (RVC File Manager) confirmed that the same Bylaw amendment has been proposed in at least two other locations including Langdon and Balzac within the RVC clearly indicating this Public Consultation Process (PCP) is implemented by the RVC Administration and Council to reduce the opportunity for existing residents to be involved in a Public Consultation Process.
It is clear the RVC is NOT committed to the existing residents of RVC or the Public Consultation Process and that this situation requires direct involvement from other departments of the Government of Alberta to bring attention to this to generate meaningful improvement to RVC PCP. This letter is also being sent to the Premier, Municipal Affairs,
Ken Baker,
Cochrane Lake, AB