Time to Plan for Next 40 Years

Flashback to the summer of 2007, when, as a neophyte candidate for public office, I went door-to-door to find out what our residents’ thoughts were and what they envisioned for their community.

I recall the comments about growth. Some residents said “Stop the growth and I will vote for you.”
My answer today is the same one I gave then: “Strathcona County is positioned close to a huge metro area and in a region that offers highly attractive jobs. We are the key municipality in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland. People flock to Strathcona County for our high-quality lifestyle. We expect to have housing for our elders and homes for our children when they are ready to raise families. We are not in a position to stop growing. However, your elected leaders are responsible to plan and manage balanced growth.”
The last five years have solidified Strathcona County as one of the top three communities in Canada to live and raise families.

The third largest municipality in Alberta, our 2.25 per cent average growth rate is leading the way to even greater prosperity with business and industry projected to contribute approximately 63 per cent of municipal property taxes in 2012 toward covering municipal operations.

Becoming a community of choice does not happen by accident. Kudos to former councils and administration who planned our way to success — balancing intergenerational equity (who pays for the next huge recreation multiplex and art centre, us or our children?); front ending growth (do taxpayers pay for gross investment of support infrastructure for the next mega residential growth area, or the developers?) and community revitalization (who pays to revitalize the sewers and water systems of our lovely old residential areas?).

It is all about balance and planning. It’s about weighing the infrastructure demands of current growth versus the revitalization needs of our existing residential areas.

It’s about the cost implications and who pays how much and when. Prioritization and planning are the keys to success and prosperity for you and your grandchildren. We are building for the future.
As you hear more about the new Growth Management Strategy, which provides direction and cost analysis of future growth, understand this: the Capitol Region Board (CRB) Growth Plan has recently identified and put guidelines in place for Strathcona County’s priority growth areas.
Their decision significantly impacts the existing Municipal Development Plan put into place by former councils.

The North East growth area (the northeast corner of highways 21 and 16) was accepted by the CRB, so we can continue to plan for an urban density similar to Sherwood Park in that area.

The Colchester growth area density has been changed (from our former 2007 Municipal Development Plan densities of urban rural transition, 50 to 129 units per quarter section) to 28 to 30 units per hectare.

What does that mean? Visualize Colchester in 40 years: not a “rurban” landscape of smaller acreages transitioning smoothly from west to east into larger 10-acre small holdings, but a bustling neighbourhood that looks like Summerwood or Emerald Hills.

That is a totally different vision than our previous councils had planned.

Take into account our current growth status. Your tax dollar is contributing to support infrastructure for Summerwood and Emerald Hills (now in the final stages of build out). Council has already signed off and committed to the Cambrian residential lands as the next residential build.

We are enjoying the fruits of previous councils’ collaborative work with the province to build highway interchanges and a hospital to service our growing region.

What about our rural strategy? Council committed to supporting existing rural population and planning for modest population increases when it expanded Ardrossan Recreation Complex and committed almost $9 million tax dollars to a waste water line.

This municipality is planning and building on many fronts. When does this become a headlong rush into urban sprawl? When planning is minimized and decisions are made “on the fly”?
We need to be wise in our commitment of resources moving ahead.

This council and our residents in Strathcona County need to have a hands-on, get-involved approach to this critical stage of planning that results in a strategic and focused plan for growth moving forward.
More than half of the elected officials on the bench, myself included, will not be here to enjoy the new growth areas that will be in place in 40 to 60 years.

That does not absolve us from the responsibility of putting to work all the skills and new technology at our disposal — taking the time to plan well, to lay the strong foundations — to make the wisest choices for both our current taxpayers, as well as our grandchildren.

I urge residents to take every opportunity to engage in the upcoming new Growth Management Strategy process.