Real Estate

The long running legal battle between the Town of Canmore and Three Sisters Mountain Village Property Limited made its long-awaited appearance at the Court of Appeal.

“Since we undertook the option analysis for the project, really nothing’s changed except to emphasize how important these projects are to mitigate and protect the community.”

A presentation on how the Town of Canmore’s planning department’s development application process has evolved in recent years became a discussion between council and Town staff on the roles each has in setting service levels.

"The Town of Banff has done some deep energy retrofits in our own buildings, which has achieved cost savings for us in terms of our energy costs and reduced our greenhouse gas emissions, and so we want to be able to bring this to the broader community."

“Housing is a critical issue in our community and nobody is naïve or unaware of the situation. It’s really an impactful opportunity for the Town to continue to address that housing challenge because the amount of land could yield a significant amount of units at all parts of the housing spectrum.”

“The intention to apply for a development permit does not create a crystallized right on which to base a refusal of a current proposal. The board must look at the current context of the application, not at what might happen in the future.”

A 98-unit visitor accommodation unit got the go-ahead from Canmore’s planning commission.

The final legal written arguments in the upcoming Court of Appeal hearing between the Town of Canmore and Three Sisters Mountain Village Properties Limited were submitted.

“I have some concerns with proceeding and I’d like to know more because I am not comfortable proceeding if I understand the superintendent’s intentions."

“We’re interested in improving our process. Some of it is hard to compare, but other parts are quite useful. It’s opened an opportunity to be in conversation with BOWDA members about our process and where we can make changes and improvements and they can help us be more efficient such as in submitting a complete application. I’m hoping it’s a good conversation starter and we’re working together to make the process as effective as possible.”