New municipal development plan maps out 25 years of growth for city

The city’s new Municipal Development Plan (MDP) will guide Chestermere as it grows into the community that residents want to see.
City planners spent almost two years talking with residents about how they want to see the city grow over the next 25 years.
“We heard a lot of feedback that people are really happy living here,” said Municipal Planner Jillian Geen.
“There are opportunities that people saw for new places to shop, or work or have more of a variety of housing right in the city,” she said.
The recurring theme of the feedback was that residents want to see more amenities in Chestermere. Residents would prefer to shop at home rather than driving in to Calgary.
“We use the planning lingo complete communities,” said Geen, “all your needs are met right here at home.”
One change that will facilitate this was an update to the commercial building size and height limitations. The 60 000 square foot cap has been removed.
“By providing more options we cast a broader net and become attractive to a larger variety of commercial stores…that would want to locate here,” said Director of Development and Infrastructure Services John Popoff.
The MDP also addresses residential development. The planning document predicts that Chestermere’s population will grow to about 50,000 people in the next 25 years.
To accommodate this growth the MDP sets out plans for more variety in residential developments.
In the past neighbourhoods have typically been single family homes. With this new document a greater variety of home styles including duplexes, townhouses and condominium developments could be built.
“So people at any stage of their life could find a fit for them,” said Geen.
All new communities will also be required to incorporate commercial spaces.
As well as laying out the plan for the growth of the city, the MDP also protects the unique character that is Chestermere.
“I could probably write a novel on what makes Chestermere unique,” said Mayor Patricia Matthews.
She said that Chestermere is striving to be a recreational and relaxation oasis in the region.
The MDP sets out development plans to have logical use of space and placements of communities allowing for interconnectivity and walkability of neighbourhoods and commercial spaces.
It also brings the city of Chestermere into alignment with the Calgary Regional Partnership plan.
The regional plan says that municipalities will build smart growth in the future. That document respects that each municipality that has signed it will adhere to the principal of smart growth in its own way.
“The way that we conserve land, conserve services, conserve water is going to be different than Airdrie, than Cochrane, than Okotoks,” said Matthews.
In this way, Chestermere can maintain its character while growing responsibly for both its residents and its regional partners.