Hope for TSMV future
Editor:
Re: Development not the only election issue (RMO Sept. 5).
I, too, am hopeful that the municipal election campaign in Canmore doesn’t get polarized over development.
There are too many smart and passionate people in our community with too many innovative tools at our disposal (e.g. conservation easements, trade in development credits, etc.) for us not to work together on solutions that meet the needs of wildlife, the new owners of Three Sisters, the Town, and our community.
The wildlife corridor in question, which links Kananaskis Country with Banff National Park and valleys beyond, is too important to do anything less.
Karsten Heuer, president,
Y2Y Conservation Initiative,
Canmore
Time to get TSMV right
Editor:
I was encouraged to read Chris Ollenberger’s recent comments (TSMV out of receivership, RMO Sept. 9) that “... the future vision for the development (of the Three Sisters property) will occur with the community at large …” and, “We want to be good community stewards of the assets.”
The statements reflect what developers have been slow to recognize over 20 years of Three Sisters’ development hi that the key to success is working with both the Town of Canmore and the community at large to arrive at a plan that works for all.
The Three Sisters development is a unique proposition. With nearly 1,500 acres of developable land at play, it carries a very large footprint in a very small valley.
As currently constituted, it represents what is believed to be the largest resort development in the Canadian Rockies. While that alone is noteworthy, it becomes extraordinary when one considers that the development: is occurring in a constrained landscape that already supports a population of residents and visitors large enough to challenge our capacity to comfortably accommodate them all on summer weekends; is being stitched across land that has been severely undermined by a century of coal mining; encompasses much of this stretch of the Rockies’ scarce but very valuable montane habitat and includes lands critical to an internationally significant wildlife movement corridor.
Given a 20 or 25 year buildout, the development could add another 9,000 full-time and part-time residents to the valley along with several thousand additional dogs and as many vehicles. Put it all together, and it is easy to see – as the Outlook’s Sept. 5 editorial put it – that the development “... is the future of this community.” Is it any wonder that that community is fiercely protective of the Valley’s natural assets and has taken such a strong proprietary interest in the Three Sister’s property, regardless of who owns it?
Given as much, the announcement that the Taylor family and Blair Richardson have returned to the Three Sister’s helm is welcome news. Not only does the property remain intact, but in their previous tenure the owners climbed a steep curve to learn about the social license needed to operate here successfully. In response, they developed an overarching vision – of a health and wellness-based development for TSMV – that resonated with the community and their on-ground planning reflected many of the community values expressed in Canmore’s cornerstone Mining the Future document.
Previous Three Sisters plans and analyses have shown that there is opportunity and ample acreage to provide not only adequate profits for the owners, but to support what the community wants from the development. Based on 20 years of reflection, most lists would include, among other things: local economic development; a front-loaded revenue-enhancing mix of residential and commercial development; affordable housing and state-of-the-art planning that will accommodate critical wildlife corridor lands and extend valley recreational opportunities. In terms of process, the chart toppers would include early and meaningful community engagement, trust-building transparency and impeccable accountability to investors and stakeholders alike.
Canmore residents have now been around the Three Sisters block several times. Those who have been working on the issue have been living out Canmore’s version of Groundhog Day minus the comic relief of Bill Murray. They have experienced two decades’ worth of false starts, abrupt changes of directions, aborted ASPs and more planning sessions and public hearings than even the most committed citizen should have to attend in a single lifetime.
Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. As we head around the block one more time, it’s a good time to think about what we can do differently this time.
With the proverbial hope that springs eternal, we have owners who possess a hard-earned understanding of what makes such a large development in Canmore a unique proposition; we have a Town corporation whose politicians and planners have a fine-grained understanding of the nature of the development and the need for community involvement and we have a committed, politically-seasoned community that claims the right to have a say in what its future will look like.
This time around, we have the opportunity, the collective knowledge and the tools – as developers, the Town of Canmore, and the community – to work together and get it right. It’s not about development versus anti-development. It’s about creating and maintaining a truly great place to live. One that is, if not perfect, than at least amenable, to all of us. Let’s get started. In good faith. Together.
Bart T. Robinson
Canmore
