Given the significance and importance of the currently proposed Municipal Development Plan for the future of Canmore, elected officials have decided to slow the public feedback process down and push considering first reading of the bylaw into the new year.
Mayor John Borrowman put forward the first of several motions on Tuesday night (Oct. 6) to refocus the process of gathering feedback from the community and council as well as extend its timeline into the first quarter of 2016.
“We have had a lot of discussion here at town hall over the last little while among various members of council and a number of us have been feeling an extended timeline may be preferable,” Borrowman said.
“This is not to react to voices of a very small number of people who have been expressively opposed to the plan, but to have the broader community understand the plan.”
Specifically, the mayor said, more oversight from council and through other channels into the draft document are needed. With that in mind, council voted unanimously to direct administration to schedule a special meeting for elected officials to provide their input into the MDP.
Borrowman said the MDP stems from the Mining the Future process that was accepted by council eight years ago – that document and its vision for the future of the community were the first step in rewriting the MDP.
He said more contextualization and direct links in the draft MDP to that visioning process are needed and more time will allow for that to happen.
“If the timeline is extended, I don’t think it is a bad thing,” he said. “Ultimately, we will have a better document and it is a planning document that will inform councils, administration and the community for a number of years.”
First reading of the MDP, which is a statutory planning document that sets out at a high level the future for development in the community, was originally set for the end of October.
Councillor Sean Krausert said by taking more time, the process and MDP will both be stronger, as it is building upon the robust Mining the Future process started by a previous council.
“I believe the steps being recommended will make it even stronger,” Krausert said.
The online survey will also remain open for the public to provide feedback through until the end of October. Manager of Communications Sally Caudill said while it does not have multiple IP exclusion, administration can identify if one particular internet address is filling out the survey multiple times.
The special meeting of council will also include all feedback received so far on the MDP for them to consider when they discuss the draft bylaw, which the mayor said he is looking forward to.
“I am looking forward to the opportunity for council to speak at a public venue and add our own comments to the draft Municipal Development Plan,” he said. “I think that will be a very good exercise and one we have not taken the opportunity to do.”
The discussion did not shy away from the fact that there is a campaign within the community allegedly circulating misinformation and conjecture about the draft MDP. At least one neighbourhood in the community has been plastered with anonymous flyers detailing concerns about the bylaw.
With the headline: “Do you know that many neighbourhood green spaces are being evaluated for development potential?” the document implies the municipality is conspiring to develop all available parks and green spaces into affordable housing.
“This information has been given to you by a group of concerned Canmore residents who feel you should know about the potential changes in your neighbourhood based on your proximity to one of the parcels having been identified with development potential,” states the unsigned poster, which contains multiple factual errors.
Borrowman expressed disappointment in the fact that misinformation is being distributed and encouraged all Canmore residents who want more information on the MDP or have questions about any of its sections to contact the planning department or read the bylaw itself.
“It is disappointing that a small number of people in our community seem to be actively trying to undermine this process using conjecture or misrepresenting what is actually in the draft plan and after speaking with other residents in the community, honestly it feels like fear mongering in some ways,” he said.
“This is important work and it is not fair some people are trying to frighten their neighbours with something that is simply not real.”
