Chestermere City Council gave second and third reading of the Clearwater Park West Road Closure Bylaw after a Dec. 6 public hearing.
Senior Planner, Growth and Infrastructure Elizabeth Armitage explained to council that the applicant IBI Group, and landowner, Clearwater Park, proposed to close a portion of Range Road 281.
“There is no road there currently, it’s an undeveloped road allowance. We’re not taking out any roads, we’re just taking out the potential of this road being built because in the outline plan that’s been approved there’s no road there,” Armitage said.
Following the final reading of the bylaw, council also authorized the city director of growth and development to execute a land swap agreement to meet the Municipal Government Act (MGA) requirements, where the city would acquire public service land in exchange for the closed portion of Range Road 281.
“There will be a land swap between the city and Clearwater Park. When the road is closed, it becomes property of the city,” Armitage said. “Essentially, once the road is closed, as a separate process there will be a land swap of that road closure area from the city to lands that the city will acquire, which will be an extension to our public works community operations land.”
The zoning on the road through the Land Use Bylaw amendment and the outline plan will continue.
The road closure is consistent with the Municipal Development Plan (MDP), Area Structure Plan (ASP), outline plan, and Land Use Bylaw zoning, Armitage explained.
“The benefits are that by closing this road, Clearwater Park will be able to continue to do the development that’s been proposed, and the city will acquire the public utility lot south of the public works lot,” Armitage said.
Notifications were sent to adjacent landowners in the Clearwater Park area about the road closure, however, the city did receive concerns from residents about what area of the road was affected.
“Some residents were concerned this road was closing all the way down to Highway 1. That’s not true, that’s not the case, this is only for the upper portion of the road” Mayor Jeff Colvin said.
“It’s all farmland right now, there’s no actual road there. The farm access and down to a gravel road, none of that will be closed,” Colvin added. “Even though there’s not a road there, because they are building across of it, they have to approach us for a road closure, but only the portion they are affecting, they don’t close the entire road.”
