Chestermere updates MDP

Do you ever ask yourself, ‘what will Chestermere be like in 30 years?’, or when you are sitting around with friends and neighbours do you discuss how you would like our town to grow? Wouldn’t it be nice to be a part of the process which will help to determine that? No matter the size, communities do not happen by accident; they take planning with a purpose, vision, and ability to look into the future to make decisions today which will effect tomorrow.
From now through to December, the Town is giving residents the unique opportunity to do just that. Residents can provide their opinions and views about what happens over the next three decades and the information they share will be used to help update the Municipal Development Plan (MDP), the Town’s overall guiding document.
According to Heather Kauer, Senior Planner for the Town, the current MDP and Transportation Master Plan (TMP) were adopted in 2009 but because of the significant growth in terms of density since then, both plans are now being revisited. “We are using a public engagement strategy that includes council, staff and a working group of citizens to do some visioning exercises,” said Kauer, “This strategy will allow us to analyze our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of area such as land use, transportation, parks and recreation and utilities.”
Some residents have already taken the opportunity to be heard and engaged in the process through the popular endeavour of the sounding boards which were placed around town in May and June at places like the Rec Centre, Safeway and the library. These boards asked the simple question, “What would you like to see in town?” and residents could use sticky notes provided to add their thoughts and ideas to the board. “The sounding boards were successful because we received a lot of positive information about what people want,” said Kauer.
Lastly, an interactive website has been set up, allowing residents to place virtual pins into a map of the town adding an explanation of what it is they would like to see happen there. This feature will be active throughout the course of the project which will continue until December.
Kauer explains that the end product of this process will be an updated MDP and TMP. The MDP is a policy document that contains the goals and visions that are used primarily by staff when making decisions on things like land use. “Whatever decisions & regulations we create have to be consistent with both of these documents, for example, the current MDP states that a water theme is something that the town desires,” says Kauer, “So for instance, if someone brings road plans for a new subdivision, staff will look to see if it matches the document and then take it to council with a recommendation.”
“I think one of the challenges is the fact that a lot of the feedback we have received is that resident’s want the small town feel, but reality is that with the annexed land and future development we will see a population of 80,000 people in 30-50 years. How do we maintain a small town feel when we are not going to be a small town anymore?” Kauer states.
In addition to the website, there will be more opportunities to comment and to get information on the MDP at various public events during the course of the year like the Canada Day Celebration and Waterfest. The planned adoption date for the new revised document is December. All the information and updates about the project are posted at www.chestermereplans.ca.