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Development not the only election issue

There was a time in Canmore when the term “development” was a dirty word, spoken with disdain and steadfastly pooh-poohed by those opposed to the idea of building any more homes in the community.

There was a time in Canmore when the term “development” was a dirty word, spoken with disdain and steadfastly pooh-poohed by those opposed to the idea of building any more homes in the community.

It was a divisive time, when the town was split down the middle, with those pro and against what was an economic driver for the community in terms of construction jobs and the addition of millions to the tax base each year, but that also put more people into neighbourhoods and onto the landscape with wildlife.

We’ve come a long way since then, but some in the community may have forgotten that fact.

At its most recent meeting, Canmore council voted 4-2 to postpone a bylaw to establish a land use district for resort accommodation units along Stewart Creek golf course from proceeding to public hearing. The move was unnecessary and council was advised by administration that it met the requirements of first reading and public input is the next step.

It may seem like a victory for those strenuously and vocally opposed to the project, which is for a piece land that has already been developed as a clubhouse. But what it really does is delay the proponents from moving forward in good faith through the development process. Like they say, time is money and if Canmore’s elected officials don’t want to do business with developers it is the community as a whole that will suffer in the long run.

At RMO, we also hope residents of the community keep that in mind when they consider the upcoming election for mayor – a race that runs the risk of devolving into a pro and anti development one-issue campaign.

An erroneous email from developer Blair Richardson, now revealed to be a hopeful owner of Three Sisters Mountain Village, seeking financial contribution for mayoral candidate Hans Helder has made its way through the community.

This very email has brought back some of our memories of the divisiveness this community had with respect to development. It has painted Helder as the “development” candidate and incumbent John Borrowman as the choice for those against the very notion of building more homes in that storied subdivision.

Here at RMO, we would argue strongly that as a community our upcoming mayoral election is about far more than just development and Three Sisters. The reality is that TSMV has development rights afforded to it by the NRCB decision that cannot be taken back by the municipality. It is a done deal. But how it is developed is under the purview of the local development authority and that is important because it is the future of this community.

TSMV will eventually be developed – long-term planning and infrastructure have been aimed at this goal. To make the dialogue around Three Sisters proposals of any kind divisive and two-sided will only hurt this community in the long run. To make the election about just one issue is equally short sighted.

When we spoke with Helder this week he said he trusts in the people of Canmore to inform themselves fully on all the issues of the election and make a choice based on the entirety of a candidate’s campaign. We certainly hope his faith is in the right place, because it would be disappointing to see the community revert back to the days of objecting to all development on principle. Our future is about smart development and anything less undermines how far we have come as a community.

We are equally hopeful council does its due diligence to understand the development applications in front of them fully and represent the entire community when they vote on them, not just one side or the other.


Rocky Mountain Outlook

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