Those curious about the method so far in drafting an area structure plan for the final phase of development in Three Sisters Mountain Village will get a chance to see inside the process during an upcoming open house.
The Smith Creek Community Advisory Group will hold an open house on Oct. 5 from 1:30-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at the Coast Hotel to share with the public the progress they have made so far in working with the municipality and the developer to see an ASP created.
The Smith Creek ASP is a critical piece of land use planning legislation that will guide the development of the final parcel of TSMV land into the future.
QuantumPlace principal Jessica Karpat said the open house is an opportunity to engage beyond the advisory group with the community as a whole in order to have a collaborative solutions-focused conversation.
“This open house is an opportunity to bring people up to speed on the information we have been sharing with the community advisory group,” Karpat said. “Some people want to have a more detailed conversation and we are allowing for that opportunity through a workshop.”
She said the group will hold a workshop on Oct. 17 for those interested in that higher level of detail and want to have a smaller, more focused, discussion. Those interested can register at the open house.
But those at the open house will also have an opportunity to provide input into the direction the advisory group has taken so far, said Tracey Woitenko, development planner for the municipality.
“The kinds of things we will be looking into include all the considerations around development,” she said. “For example, we are going to have things like mapping of undermining, hazards, environmental considerations and transportation.”
While so far the work is at high level concepts and directions, a key question for the community at large is what is happening with respect to wildlife corridors and the final one to be established in the Three Sisters area as a whole.
For the first time in the history of delineating corridors in TSMV, representatives from the municipality are at the table with the developer and the provincial government, which is responsible for determining the corridor’s final alignment.
QuantumPlace managing principal Chris Ollenberger said he is hopeful final determination of the corridor is in the near future.
“We have an unfinished link up there and we have been sitting down at the table with the Town of Canmore and the province of Alberta trying to figure out what we are going to do,” Ollenberger said recently.
“The wildlife corridor is a long discussion and debate, but I think we are reaching some conclusions and are coming to grips with the Town of Canmore and the province on some preliminary ideas which I think people will see in the not too distant future.”
Karpat said a variety of different interests and groups in the community may be interested in attending. For example, recreation users could provide input into how the area is developed.
“There is a huge amount of people using the trails and pathways in the community and we want to make sure we design trails and pathways to work with wildlife corridors, but also meet the needs and desires of recreational users,” she said.
Woitenko said housing needs and the growth of the community is another example of an area of input the community could speak to.
“We are still coming up with the principles … we are still formulating these ideas,” she said.
Both Woitenko and Karpat said it is important for the community to understand that the ASP process is an iterative one; there is a lot of information and all details are to be reconsidered and re-evaluated constantly.
