Sprawling development near Aldersyde approved in narrow vote

Residents are considering a legal challenge after efforts to send a controversial development proposal back to the drawing board, or at least to another public hearing, were unsuccessful in Foothills County on Wednesday. 

The Highfield & Rowland Acres Area Structure Plan was adopted by a 4-3 vote of Foothills County council. Councillors Suzanne Oel, R.D. McHugh and Rob Siewert voted against the plan. 

Highfield & Rowland Acres is a residential development that would span more than 1,100 acres on either side of Highway 547, just east of the Highway 2 Aldersyde overpass. 

A major issue in the discussion is the disbanding of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board. The plan was developed to meet the board's requirements, although it needed exemptions for size and housing density.

The board approved the plan but, during the same meeting, voted to disband. Since then, some councillors have said it's time to take another look at the proposed development, without influence from regional planning rules. 

“We find ourselves in a very unusual situation now that the (board) is removed from the decision-making,” Oel said. 

After unsuccessfully trying last month to hold a discussion about reopening a public hearing into the plan, Oel tried again during the meeting on April 9. 

Council was told that procedures only allow for one public hearing, and it must be held before second reading of the plan, which was on March 12. 

Oel then made a motion to rescind second reading and reopen the public hearing, but it was defeated. 

“A question arises as to how the (plan) would have been proposed differently without all those layers,” she said. 

The area slated for development is represented by Siewert and McHugh. 

McHugh said a new plan should be brought forward with changes based on current conditions, rather than holding a second hearing for the existing plan. 

“I just don't understand how we cannot be taking another look, with all of the changes that have occurred,” McHugh said. 

A day-long public hearing was held last May, when the planning board was still in operation. 

Reeve Delilah Miller spoke against reopening the public hearing or asking the developer to submit a new application. 

“I think it opens our council up for legal challenge, and I'm not prepared to go through that, and I don't think it's procedurally fair,” Miller said. 

While Miller was concerned about legal issues that could arise if the plan is stalled or denied, Siewert said there are similar risks if it goes ahead. 

“We're talking about a plan that has substantive changes in it and a planning framework that has been substantively changed,” Siewert said. “I think we need to, just simply, go back and start over again.”

Foothills County resident Paul Howarth said the County went against its residents by approving the development. 

Howarth is part of a group that speaks out against large-scale developments in the area. 

“Our councillors should be protecting the residents that voted for them and put them where they are, to make the right decisions for the residents, and they're just simply not doing that,” he said. 

Residents are considering challenging the decision and are exploring those options, he said. 

Deputy Reeve Don Waldorf spoke in favour of the development, saying it makes the best use of available land and is in the right place at the right time. 

Waldorf said the plan that was approved is high-level, and development can be fine-tuned at later stages. 

Howarth said development of this size could change the political landscape of the entire County, with the addition of thousands of additional voters. 

Population estimates for the two communities range from 8,000 to 16,000 people. 

“What does our council look like if this doesn't incorporate as a town?” Howarth asked. “It looks very, very different.” 

Foothills County had long sought to get out from under the metropolitan board, whose policies were seen by rural members as favouring urban-style development.

The board's regional growth plan was immediately repealed when the board, which will cease operations on May 1, voted to disband in February.