CANMORE – A controversial open letter from one of the shareholders of lands owned by Three Sisters Mountain Village Properties Limited (TSMVPL) doused gasoline on an already difficult relationship between the company and Canmore residents.
The letter, which was a paid advertisement and on Pg. 2 of the Nov. 2 Outlook, created significant discussion throughout the community in which TSMVPL minority owner Blair Richardson emphasized the ongoing civil case for $161 million would continue and it could potentially “severely impact the financial stability of the Town and resident’s tax obligations.”
In the letter, he said the Taylors’ – the majority owners of the lands – various business projects “played a significant role in creating thousands of job opportunities in Alberta and across Canada while generously contributing to numerous charitable organizations, adding the Taylors contributed $10 million in unpaid bills when the lands were purchased in 2000 rather than going through bankruptcy proceedings.
He further stated he was “deeply disheartened and troubled” when roughly 20 people protested outside of Don Taylor’s Calgary home Oct. 22, two days before council adopted the area structure plans for Smith Creek and Three Sisters Village.
The protest had been organized by Bow Valley Engage, which also organized a rally attended by about 150 people when Premier Danielle Smith spoke in Canmore at a Bow Valley Builders and Developers Association luncheon Oct. 12.
Karsten Heuer, president of Bow Valley Engage and one of the organizers of the Oct. 22 protest mentioned in Richardson’s open letter, said they were taken aback by the advertisement.
He noted the group of slightly more than 20 people was within its legal right to peacefully assemble on the sidewalk across the street from Don Taylor’s home in a protest aimed at furthering awareness of the potential significance the development could have on wildlife in the area and the importance of raising attention.
“It was very uncomfortable for everybody, including the people assembled, it’s not how we would like to spend our Sunday," he said.
“We recognize it was over the line for some people… I respect that and it was a subject we chose to do carefully and it was uncomfortable. Unfortunately, this bullying is pushing the community into some very uncomfortable places," he added.
"It was legal. It’s our right to peacefully assemble under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
The organization launched the Save Grizz Corridor petition – which has more than 1,000 signatures as of Nov. 8 – in an effort to have the provincial government purchase the TSMVPL-owned lands to protect wildlife.
“It’s always easy to complain and say something’s wrong or want it to be different, but what the campaign does is really point to the solution and the reason behind the disagreements,” Heuer said. "It’s very straightforward, very upfront.”
Richardson added for the last three decades he felt landowners hadn’t “receive[d] the treatment it deserved in line with the NRCB [Natural Resources Conservation Board] permit and the project has struggled as a result.”
He further wrote the “Town’s longstanding efforts to thwart Alberta law to end, and they must now respect the Court’s decision and begin to fairly and honestly [work] with Three Sisters in a timely manner for the development to proceed.”
The Outlook was unable to reach Richardson before deadline. A TSMVPL spokesperson also wasn’t able to be reached prior to deadline.
Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert said the letter showed “there’s hurt and frustration on all sides of the issue,” but that he doesn’t foresee it being an issue between the Town and TSMVPL.
“I don’t see it having impact on the Town and Three Sisters working together because it is not the company line,” he said. “However, I think the community-at-large could easily misunderstand that letter to be the Three Sisters' position.”
Krausert said it could be beneficial for TSMVPL to clarify Richardson wasn’t speaking on its behalf.
He added the two sides will continue to work with one another and it is important for all sides to move forward in having the best outcome possible for Canmore.
“Just as I took exception with a planned protest outside of a person’s private home, I take exception with some of the elements of this letter,” Krausert said. “I do not believe the letter speaks on behalf of Three Sisters. I take the letter as the words of a shareholder and not necessarily the position of the company.
“Notwithstanding the letter, the Town and Three Sisters and the community must endeavour to find a positive path forward.”
Richardson has been a long-time investor in the lands, along with Don and David Taylor. He was involved in an ownership group from 2000-07, when Morgan Stanley Financial purchased the lands and they were managed by East-West Partners in Colorado. It went into receivership in 2009, which saw PricewaterhouseCoopers take over until it sold to Richardson and the Taylors in 2013.
Richardson, who was born in Saskatchewan was previously president of Morgan Stanley Japan and vice chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia.
Richardson has largely been a silent partner for the TSMPLV-owned lands, but in 2013 he sent an email asking for support for former councillor and longtime Canmore resident Hans Helder seeking to raise $100,000 for Helder’s mayoral campaign against then incumbent Mayor John Borrowman.
Richardson told the Outlook at the time it had been a typo and meant to read $10,000 since provincial legislation required candidates to not open a bank account or file a disclosure statement if they didn’t exceed $10,000.
The history of the lands now owned by TSMVPL has been fraught with challenges. They’ve switched owners multiple times, gone into bankruptcy and receivership as well as had a difficult and friction-filled relationship between landowners, the municipality and its residents.
The lands also have the rare approval from a provincial body in the 1992 NRCB that outlined development on the lands was in the public interest of Alberta.
The lands have seen some ASPs move forward, with both Stewart Creek and the Resort Centre receiving unanimous approval in 2003 in a council led by Mayor Glenn Craig.
While the bulk of Stewart Creek has been built out – with The Gateway mixed-use commercial development underway – the Resort Centre is replaced by the Three Sisters Village ASP.
The last two-and-a-half years have been among the most difficult, with the previous Canmore council voting down both ASPs. TSMVPL appealed and took it to the Land and Property Rights Tribunal, which ruled entirely in TSMVPL’s favour.
The Town received the right to appeal, which led to the Court of Appeal hearing the case last April. On Oct. 3, the appeal court upheld the LPRT’s decisions, meaning the two ASPs would have to be adopted since they were consistent with the NRCB’s 1992 decision.
Canmore council adopted the two ASPs Oct. 24. TSMVPL and the Town had a pre-application meeting for Three Sisters Village ASP Oct. 31. The Smith Creek ASP application is expected to be submitted in the coming weeks.
It is expected planning will commence for infrastructure needs and take place throughout 2024 and into 2025 for the ASPs, with shovels expected to hit ground in 2025.
At its Oct. 31 finance committee, Town staff proposed for council consideration the creation of a senior development planner position to work specifically on the two TSMVPL ASPs. If council approved the position in the budget, the costs would be covered by associated application fees and would help Town staff meet legislative timelines associated with development.
The Town has spent about $580,000 on TSMVPL-related legal cases, with TSMVPL also asking for $129,600 – which was less than 40 per cent of its legal fees for the appeal – to be paid by the Town.
TSMVPL continues to have a $161 million civil suit. Thunderstone Quarries – which owns lands in the Smith Creek ASP – has a civil suit for $63.5 million.
The LPRT ordered the Town to adopt both ASPs in May 2022. The decisions ruled entirely in TSMVPL’s favour and came after 15 days of hearings with more than 110 hours of testimony, more than 5,000 pages of evidence presented, more than 3,000 pages of transcripts and close to a dozen experts being questioned by the five-person tribunal.
The Smith Creek ASP would see an estimated population of 2,200 to 4,500 people and includes about 1,000 and 2,150 residential units. The ASP includes upwards of 75,000-square-feet of light industrial and business space and roughly 125,000-square-feet of retail and commercial space for local services.
Three Sisters Village ASP could have between 3,000-5,000 residential units – which would depend on the bonus density element – and between 5,500-10,000 visitors and permanent population. It would include up to 602,000-square-feet of retail and business space and about 190,000-square-feet of indoor recreation and entertainment, with 75 hectares of open space and 10 per cent of affordable housing.
The ASP covers about 169 hectares.
