HARVIE HEIGHTS – A public hearing for the Harvie Heights area redevelopment plan (ARP) will take place after MD of Bighorn council gave first reading to the high level guiding document.
Bighorn council set the public hearing for Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. as a special council meeting, to receive feedback from the community.
A staff report noted the ARP for Harvie Heights was included in council’s 2023 budget, with work proceeding throughout 2024.
Its intent was to “provide a framework for how highway commercial areas could redevelop in the future, while respecting the thoughtful integration of commercial areas with the existing residential portion of the hamlet.”
Wayne Shanks, a planning consultant for the MD and lead on developing the ARP, said areas of concern from residents included transportation and wayfinding; open space being used for development; risk of wildlife; human-wildlife conflict; illegal parking on Harvie Heights Road; converting municipal water and sanitary sewer systems in the residential area; commercial properties not providing enough parking and pedestrian connections; short-term accommodation regulations and residents wanting public transit.
Shanks said addressing residents’ concerns about illegal parking in the hamlet could potentially be done through future design work.
He noted the community largely expressed they preferred the existing well and septic systems, but added a clause to allow the municipality to explore converting rural servicing standards to urban. He emphasized if such a move were to go forward, it would only happen with consultation with residents.
“We want to make sure we include Harvie Heights residents in that decision,” he said.
The municipality issued request for proposals for the ARP in August 2023, which included a hydrogeological report, reports on stormwater management, water and wastewater and traffic. The commercial design guidelines were also to be reviewed as well as a “recommended entry treatment strategy for Blue Jay Drive.”
Council selected Invistec Consulting Inc. at its October 2023 meeting – with $50,000 in funding from the province and $50,000 from the municipality – and public engagement starting last February. A background survey was mailed out to 235 residents and business owners, with more than 40 people attending an open house in February.
Additional stakeholders were engaged last March, which included Bow Valley Builders and Developers Association, the province, the Town of Canmore and commercial property owners. A What We Heard report was released last March.
A second open house took place in May, followed by a second What We Heard report in July. Stakeholders were able to provide feedback in May and June, with a final draft and supporting studies submitted to internal Bighorn departments and external agencies before coming back to council.
Among concerns raised by residents was the impact of commercial development on water quality and supply which has the ARP recommending a detailed hydrogeological assessment required for any commercial development.
Residents also expressed concerns with site, building and landscape design of commercial developments, which have the ARP recommending commercial development follow design guidelines.
Shanks said if the ARP was passed by council, the land use bylaw would need to be amended to take architectural guidelines out of the highway commercial district in the hamlet.
Hayley Gavin, the MD’s director of planning and development services, noted a review of the land use bylaw could potentially take place in 2025.
The original subdivision for Harvie Heights was in 1951 – and named after John Harvie the then deputy minister of Lands and Forests – and there was no area structure plan. However, design guidelines were established for the highway commercial district.
“This longstanding gap in policy, along with several recent applications for the redevelopment of Harvie Heights’ commercial properties, became the catalysts for the Harvie Heights area redevelopment plan,” states the plan.
The plan noted the first 64 lots were offered in 1951 on 10-year leases for $25 a year, with 44 additional lots being made available later that year. Though intended to only be a summer cottage community, it would grow to 112 residential lots. Of those, 81 are for permanent residents and it has a population of about 163 people.
Canmore’s wastewater infrastructure was connected to Harvie Heights in 1988 and water supply reached the hamlet in 2005.
Harvie Heights is 30.09 hectares, with 21.40 hectares being private, 6.84 hectares municipal land and 1.85 hectares Crown land. It has a residential district, highway commercial district, public service district.
The land use is 37.75 hectares, of which 12.13 hectares is for residential, 9.32 is for highway commercial, 7.67 is roadways and alleyways, natural and protected areas are 4.03 hectares and public utilities are 3.51 hectares. Open spaces comprise 1.10 hectares.
The MD of Bighorn comprises about 2,700 square kilometres, with much of it being uninhabited Crown land and wilderness area.
The original recommendation was to have the meeting Dec. 10 – the same day as budget deliberations were taking place for council – but elected officials expressed concern about the timeline due to budget talks potentially taking up a significant amount of time.
Lisa Rosvold, reeve of the MD, said the evening time allows more chance “to accommodate more of the general public” and budget talks would “potentially be a very long day.”
