Editor:
As I learned while serving as a Town councillor, many of us in Banff – plumbers, guides, servers, cooks, teachers, nurses, artists, bear guardians, and managers – share a vision of protecting our national park.
The defiant actions and words of the Town of Banff towards Parks Canada troubles me. More broadly, it poses big risks for many businesses like mine and for the Town's already-swollen budget. This defiance may even risk part of our independence as a municipality. While there may be planning arguments based on detailed interpretations of the bylaw, the Town has defied the broader purpose of the Banff National Park management plan in two serious ways.
First, on Dec. 11 by starting the review of bylaw 479, the area redevelopment plan for the railroad lands, in a manner that flouts the Banff National Park's superintendent's letters to the Town of Sept. 10, 2021 and Feb. 27, 2023; and second, by pushing ahead with commercial expansion in the pedestrian zone without obtaining the commercial growth quota or getting an agreement with Parks Canada on this commercial growth.
There are two aspects of business uncertainty associated with commercial expansion onto sidewalks and streets. The tourism bureau presented a short-term concern to council that some of us are planning to use the patios this summer and that it's "late in the game" to plan otherwise. But the tourism bureau also needs to weigh the other, larger uncertainty that Parks Canada or a judge might not respond to the Town with a delicate scalpel by tweaking the bylaw. Instead, a judge might bring down a sledgehammer, and knock out commercial patio uses not just on Banff Avenue but throughout national park communities.
Poking a bear can get messy.
Moreover, this commercial expansion compounds our existing housing problem. It's not the first patio and the additional staff needed for those seats that cause the problem. It's the 41st patio and all the other 40 patios, and all the cumulative staff needed, which amplifies housing shortages and soaring rents. The cascade of consequences on our schools, hospitals and families is foreseeable and harmful for our community.
In my mind, we'll do better by recommitting ourselves to the purpose of the town in our national park. I invite other businesses to reach out to me. By respectfully working with our landlord Parks Canada, we can better deliver services to our national park guests and provide a comfortable community for our residents.
Peter J. Poole,
Banff
