MD of Foothills Growth Management Strategy
On June 23, 2011 MD of Foothills planning staff received permission from the Municipal Council to proceed with a Growth Management Strategy for the MD. This strategy will attempt to identify characteristics of the MD that are deemed by our residents to be important and worth preserving; then we will develop a series of strategies to preserve those characteristics while still affording opportunities for growth.
Project Goals
- Educate the public on the importance of planning for growth;
- Incorporate public values into municipal policy;
- Determine what qualities of the MD are most valued by our residents;
- Begin to describe, in qualitative terms, some strategies that will enable the MD to grow in such a way as to preserve those qualities;
- Capitalize on existing opportunities and overcome potential challenges;
- Support conservation of the natural environment;
- Support conservation of agricultural lands;
- Build trust in our municipal government with residents;
- Address provincial planning requirements on our own terms.
Project Phasing
The project will be divided into two phases:
- Phase one will be focused on both informing the public about the project and its benefits and gathering information from residents of the MD to determine the important characteristics of each district within the MD, opportunities and constraints that will influence their future growth and the resident's vision for the future.
- Phase two will build on the information gathered in phase one to outline some strategies to assist in achieving our resident's vision for the future in each area of the MD.
Phase One of the project will begin in Mid September of 2011 with the launch of an on-line survey. This will be followed by some face to face consultation in the month of October. Once we have finished the consultation MD staff will produce a report outlining what we learned.
Dividing the MD into Districts
One of the first tasks that planning staff have undertaken is to attempt to divide the MD into districts. The MD is very vast and diverse and to make planning more manageable it makes sense to break it down into smaller areas. We have attempted to create districts that make sense based on historical settlement patterns, topography, environmental factors, current land use, planning framework and opportunities and constraints for development.
The districts the way they are currently drawn, are tentative; we will be discussing the boundaries of all of them through the public consultation process and anticipate that they may move as a result of conversations with our residents.
To view a map of the five tentative districts click here.
For more Information, please contact
Julie McLean MEDes., Planner
Phone: 403.652.2341