Cochrane town council was provided an overview of the direction a new policy on the protection of wetlands would take during their Jan. 14 meeting.
Wetlands are identified by class, from one to seven; the lower classes, one to three being temporary or seasonal wetlands and not protected under any current policy, while Class 4 and above are considered environmental reserve (ER).
Presently in Cochrane, there are 204 wetlands; 20 per cent being Class 1; 25 per cent Class 2; 22 per cent Class 3; 12 per cent Class 4; 12 per cent Class 5; and one Class 6, found north of Sunset Ridge.
The new proposed policy aims to harmonize both the policy and the practice, maintain no net loss of wetlands, apply ER to Class 4 wetlands and above (Class 3 as required) and set a process for development applications and review of those applications.
Town development planner Nicole Tomes and senior manager of planning and engineering Kathy Dietrich said the goal of the policy would be to find a middle ground between development and protection of Cochrane’s existing wetlands.
The policy is to not only be aligned with upcoming provincial standards, but set the bar higher in areas the town sees a need.
A focus will be placed on Class 3 and 4 wetlands, which Dietrich said are the ‘most difficult to know how to deal with properly.’
Wetlands have many environmental functions, including water storage, groundwater recharge and providing a habitat for wildlife.
Mayor Truper McBride said the preservation of Cochrane’s wetlands is not simply about ecology, but also maintaining a social significance, and incorporating them into the town’s Open Spaces Master Plan.
Administration hopes to complete the draft policy and present it to council sometime this spring, with a completed, approved policy on the books by summer.
The process of creating the new policy incorporates four phases: understanding, development of principles, recommendations and ultimately making a decision.
Business is good at the Cochrane Urgent Care Centre, with statistics increasing in all categories.
Site manager for the centre Kanchan Prinsloo and Bow Valley’s community and rural health director Barb Shellian gave council members an overview of the Urgent Care Centre’s progress since it opened in 2011.
“It was a long dream coming,” Shellian said of Cochrane’s desire for a care centre — a project that took several years to come to fruition.
Wanting the centre to not only provide health care, but to be part of the community, Shellian and Prinsloo said they make every effort to hire local physicians when they can, and that out of 120 staff members, approximately 88 per cent live in Cochrane.
Councillor Joann Churchill, who has worked with Team Health — a board that worked to bring the Urgent Care Centre to Cochrane — for six years, said the facility is invaluable and ‘adds to the quality of life in our community.’
Shellian said that when looking at the postal codes of those visiting the Urgent Care Centre, 30 per cent come from out of the normal range they would expect to see.
Responding to councillor Ross Watson’s query on whether the centre would see any new medical equipment in the future, Shellian said they were certainly ready to accept either a CT scanner or ultra-sound apparatus if the province chose to provide it.
An amendment to a land-use bylaw was given first reading to re-designate 29 residential lots of land on Heartland Way from high-density, multi-use dwellings (R-M) to single detached (R-1), correcting an error that occurred in 2007.
The error happened when council approved an area structure plan that had an inaccurate attachment that zoned the lots as R-M rather than R-1.
The lots in question range from 20-26 feet in width.
Council approved a request that will be submitted to Canadian Pacific Rail to cease the blowing of train whistles at a new at-grade vehicular and pedestrian crossing on the Centre Ave. extension through the Quarry site.
Senior manager of infrastructure Rick Deans said a safety inspection was conducted by the Canadian Highways Institute and Bunt and Associates for the town to ensure all safety measures were being met at the crossing.
The design of the crossing will include signs, arms, lights and an enunciator, which the town believes alleviates the need for the train to blow its whistle.
Ultimately, the decision will lie with Transport Canada on whether the request will be approved.
