The Diamond Valley area’s two towns are preparing to come up with a plan to handle growth together.
The Towns of Black Diamond and Turner Valley submitted an application for provincial funding to develop similar Municipal Development Plans (MDP) and a joint municipal growth study to guide expansion in both communities.
The Towns hope the estimated $200,000 cost to complete the projects will be covered by the Alberta Community Partnership Grant Program.
“It’s about building a solid plan for all of us to be able to move forward,” said Turner Valley Mayor Kelly Tuck. “When we are both looking at our needs when we move forward for land annexation or industrial development, we need to know what does it look like for both of our communities.”
Administration and planning personnel in both Towns recommended the combined initiative, and Black Diamond Town council gave its approval at its Nov. 19 regular council meeting.
Although the request will come to Turner Valley Town council on Dec. 1, Tuck said the application for funding was submitted to meet the Nov. 30 deadline.
“It makes total sense for us,” she said. “We are doing so much together now. It’s another thing we can do together.”
Rod Ross, Black Diamond’s planning and development officer, said while the growth strategy will look at both communities in a shared vision, each Town will adopt its own MDP based on common values, aspirations, goals and interests.
The plan was reviewed last in Black Diamond in 2001 and Turner Valley reviewed its plan about four years ago – although Tuck said council wasn’t pleased with the results.
Ross said the new MDP will consists of an updated map that illustrates land use, open spaces and infrastructure for future development.
“We haven’t had a great deal of growth and development, but looking forward to the future there will be,” he said. “When the town doesn’t know where it’s growing and what we want the community to look like in the future it’s pretty hard to give developers direction.”
Although there has been no new commercial growth in either community this year, Turner Valley saw 41 new homes built and Black Diamond saw 15.
When it came to developers expressing interest in Black Diamond’s existing properties requiring zoning changes, Ross said administration couldn’t provide them with any direction.
Due to the uncertainty of whether or not their request will be approved, they are hesitant about investing time and money in the community, he said.
Ross said such requests will have to be placed on the back burner until a revised plan is in place, which he said could take more than a year.
“When there’s applications made to amend bylaws then there’s the potential that they can be put on hold until the plan review is complete, but anything that comes in that meets the current land use bylaw, regulations will move forward,” he said.
As for partnering with Turner Valley, Ross said the proximity of the communities is what’s driving the need.
“How we plan our land use it affects one another,” he said. “If one community takes a particular approach with commercial development and the other town takes a different approach you can have a situations where towns compete and undermine each other’s efforts to achieve their goals.”
Ross said developers and new residents often see the two municipalities as interchangeable.
“There is a potential for the towns to move physically close to one another,” he said. “If that’s going to happen we have to be sure to integrate our land use, structure and transportation system. We need to coordinate together on how to plan accordingly.”
Throughout the process, the Town will consult with residents and merchants on how much growth they want, where they want it and what it should look like, Ross said.
“What we build needs to reflect the desires and the values of the residents that live here,” he said.
