BANFF – The Town of Banff is looking to do an area redevelopment plan for the industrial compound in response to steady growth and ongoing redevelopment pressure.
The governance and finance committee has tentatively approved a $140,000 spend to hire an urban planning consultant to begin work on the long-awaited area redevelopment plan (ARP) in 2023, but the decision won’t be final until budget deliberations in January.
Town planners say the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) has had to rule on a number of complex development applications for the industrial compound in recent years, including for residential housing.
Darren Enns, the director of planning and development for the Town of Banff, said an area redevelopment plan would provide a conceptual framework for the revitalization and long-term redevelopment of the compound.
“It would also set out a multi-year approach to address required infrastructure improvements, intercept parking, recommended urban design and form, policy and bylaw changes, and program support,” he said.
“An ARP of this nature would also need to determine the state of the infrastructure and the current level of service provided, while determining required improvements to meet the needs of the community both at our current levels and future growth potential levels.”
Banff’s industrial compound was developed in the 1960s when it was moved from what is now the Whiskey Creek neighbourhood.
Development in the compound falls under the federally legislated 1998 commercial development cap and subsequent commercial growth management allocation regulations in Banff.
That means there are limits to what can be built in the compound in terms of commercial floor area.
“Future development potential is impacted mostly by growth management as opposed to land use policies,” said Enns.
Given the limits to commercial development, Enns said there has been an increased interest in residential development in the compound, which has been allowed since 2002.
“The reality is there hasn’t been a lot of activity on that front, but now I think we’re seeing the market in Banff be very innovative and looking at the compound for future options for residential housing,” he said.
Previus Banff community plans have called for administration to undertake or support comprehensive planning, design, and management strategies for the industrial compound, also known as CS (Commercial Service) land use district.
While Parks Canada has consistently said no due to concerns about more development in the montane, a strategic priority of Banff town council is also an intercept parking lot at the east entrance to town by the industrial compound.
In 2017, MPC approved the first purpose-built residential apartment building in the compound, sparking discussion about the need for a safe and legal crossing on the Canadian Pacific Railway between the townsite and compound.
Currently, residents illegally cross the train tracks as a shortcut to the industrial compound, which is a significant employment hub for many in town, instead of walking or biking the extra couple kilometres via Banff Avenue and Compound Road.
“I know that planning commission struggled with the issue of connectivity when it comes to residential development – that if we’re creating new residential units we need to address how people move back and forth towards town proper given the lack of services for residents in that area,” said Enns.
Enns said it is good timing for an ARP for the industrial compound, noting the municipality wants to make sure essential services such as the various trades are retained in the community.
“We’ve always done a good job of balancing our back-of-house industrial uses with other uses in the compound, and I think it would be a real detriment to our community if we lost those back-of-house trades type uses from Banff,” he said.
“Protecting them is essential from a planning perspective so we have a community that has all types of services… with the intent of ensuring that pressures that come from other uses like residential ones do not displace other existing essential uses such as our industrial uses.”
Councillor Chip Olver, who sat on MPC during the previous council term, said MPC saw an increasing number of complex development applications over the past four years for the industrial compound.
“The land use bylaw section for the industrial compound as it’s written doesn’t really cover everything that’s starting to come forward,” she said, noting MPC recommended council embark on an ARP.
“It became very clear in looking over applications that we needed to take this step.… ideally this work should have happened three to five years ago given everything that’s been developing in the industrial compound."
Mayor Corrie DiManno was also happy to see the plan move ahead in 2023, adding it is good to touch base on the vision for the area.
Having sat on MPC as a council representative for the past four years, she said approving residential development in the compound “in some ways just makes my stomach roll around” because of the lack of services and infrastructure, such as sidewalks or bike paths.
“We continue to approve these residential units out there, which I think is a fabulous use of space," said DiManno. "I’ve called it the Bushwick of Banff before – it must be so cool to live in an industrial compound – but there are services that are likely lacking out there for the residents who are living there."
The planning department has received a total of eight applications for development containing residential dwellings in the compound since 2002. Most of these have been one or two-dwelling units added to an existing property. The exception was a 10-dwelling apartment housing development at 103 Falcon Street.
In 2020, MPC approved a two-bedroom unit over a new commercial development using some some of the last commercial space under the cap; however, the applicant decided to remove the residential portion in the end.
There was also an application for ‘sleeping rooms’ that went to MPC as a determination of use. MPC determined that it would meet the definition of apartment housing and subject to associated requirements, so the applicant decided to not proceed any further with the application.
