Will Canmore change the rules in order to accommodate development at Smith Creek?
Did you know?…
TSMV’s Smith Creek proposal would require expanding Canmore’s Urban Growth Boundary, rezoning 80 acres of “Conservation of Wildlands” for development.
This map shows roughly what’s being asked of Canmore to accommodate Three Sisters’s vision.
The red area shows the approximate location of 80 acres that would require currently applied Conservation of Wildlands (CW) zoning be removed to facilitate Smith Creek development plans. Much of this land is currently known as Thunderstone Quarry, which operates on a permit that requires complete reclamation upon its completion. Current land use districts are in light green, overlaying the Smith Creek vision and the wildlife corridor. The 80 acres in red are outside of Canmore’s current growth boundary, shown as a bold red line.
At the first reading of this proposal on February 9, 2021, representatives of TSMV suggested that the CW zoning at this location might have been a decades-old accident or mistake. Not only was it not a mistake, it was a deliberate decision by the council of the day. Canmore recognized the long-term need for Thunderstone Quarry to be reclaimed for wildlife which is why it was rezoned from resource extraction to conservation in 1998.
Map showing approximate locations of current land use districts (green) and area proposed for removal from CW zoning (80 acres in light red), to accommodate Smith Creek development plans.
What is a “Conservation of Wildlands” zone?
The purpose of a Conservation of Wildlands (CW) zone according to Canmore’s Land Use Bylaw is:
To designate areas for the protection, conservation and enhancement of the environment including biological diversity, the protection, conservation and enhancement of natural scenic or aesthetic values and where consistent with either of the above, for low-impact recreational, open space or environmental educational use.
The only permitted uses in a CW zone are wildlife corridors and wildlife habitat patches. There are other discretionary uses permitted on CW lands and these include things like pathways and trails. This particular CW zone at the mouth of the Wind Valley has been in place for 23 years, when it was clearly identified as a necessary piece of the puzzle connecting the Wind Valley with Bow Flats and the Three Sisters wildlife corridor — lands which have been set aside so that animals will have room to move in perpetuity between protected areas in Kananaskis and Banff National Park as Canmore grows.
The Smith Creek ASP proposes:
TSMV map showing commercial and industrial use in zones currently zoned Conservation of Wildlands. Dark grey is industrial use, light red is commercial. Click to enlarge.
Expanding the Town’s urban Growth Boundary (the limits within which we choose to develop) through an amendment to the Municipal Development Plan, a legal, guiding document that informs decisions in the Town of Canmore.
Rezoning 80 acres of Conservation of Wildlands (CW) zoning for development at the east end of the proposal around Thunderstone Quarry. Both the CW zoning and the conditions of the permit for Thunderstone Quarry currently require ongoing reclamation as well as total reclamation when the quarry is exhausted.
Replacing CW zoning and future reclamation lands with commercial and industrial developments. TSMV has previously stated they can not develop their Smith Creek project without the Town allowing them to develop the CW lands.
Canmore's Land Use Bylaw, Municipal Development Plan and the BCEAG Guidelines
When it comes to ensuring wildlife viability in the Bow Valley, this is the one area where council has absolute control over maintaining potential future wildlife habitat. There is no requirement or legal pressure that can make council change the existing zoning from CW.
All of the lands at the mouth of the Wind Valley (the area in question here, including Thunderstone Quarry) were rezoned as Conservation of Wildlands in 1998 in accordance with the Bow Corridor Ecosystem Advisory Group (BCEAG) Guidelines.
Applicable points from Canmore’s MDP. To date NO analysis has been done to understand how moving the boundary could or might fit all four MDP criteria.
BCEAG, a partnership involving the Government of Alberta, the Town of Canmore, Banff National Park and the Municipal District of Bighorn, was formed to ensure the viability of a system of wildlife corridors in the Bow Valley. BCEAG developed and issued a set of science-based guidelines for the design and assessment of wildlife corridors and habitat patches: these guidelines received a Premier’s Award of Excellence and were used to determine effective boundaries that now exist for wildlife conservation at this exact location.
For some more background, in 2015, Canmore filed a formal appeal against a potential development in Dead Man's Flats stating, in part, that the development would compromise the corridor between Wind Valley and the Bow Flats. The appeal states that development here would require the Town to protect more private lands on the Town side of the highway (in the proposed Smith Creek area) to try to enhance the viability of the corridor. Canmore lost the appeal and development at Dead Man’s continues, so the Town of Canmore is now in a position of having to respond accordingly for the functionality of the corridor at this pinch point as they stated in the appeal (see points 6, 7, 8 and 10).
The proposed development at Smith Creek attempts to exceed the area originally approved for development by the NRCB in 1992 and in order to accommodate the plan, the Town of Canmore would need to amend the community’s vision for Canmore set out in the MDP, which includes its urban Growth Boundary. The Municipal Development Plan — a legal document updated in 2020 — would need to be amended again, and the BCEAG Guidelines would need to be ignored.
Do you think Canmore should expand its Growth Boundary and remove 80 acres of Conservation of Wildlands zoning in order to facilitate this development?
Let us know what you think, and send your thoughts to Town Council as they wrestle with the decision of whether or not to approve this request.