HIGH RIVER, AB: The Town has initiated a re-write of the Land Use Bylaw (LUB) in order to bring it in line with the Town Plan and Council’s Strategic Direction. There will be a public open house on June 1 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Highwood Memorial Centre that will provide more information on the project.
Residents, property owners, developers and other stakeholders are invited to attend the open house and share their ideas and opportunities for flexible, high quality and long term design solutions. The event will be hosted by Town Planning and Development Division staff and representatives from McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd., who are partnering with the Town on this project.
“The goal of a new Land Use Bylaw is to be more user-friendly, to allow for more flexibility, to encourage growth and development rather than hinder it,” says Khalid Mohammed, manager of planning and development with the Town.
The two guiding principles of the new Land Use Bylaw are to put people first and to allow for sustainability stewardship of the land for the long term. This will include emphasizing walkability, removing any unnecessary rules and using ‘100 year eyes’ to plan for long term goals over short term gain.
“We are really excited about this project! The Town is taking a leadership role in defining how they want to grow and develop,” says Melissa Ayers, community planner with McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. “This new Bylaw will build on the sustainability and smart growth goals of the Town Plan by providing opportunities for development that will enhance community spaces and destinations. Creativity and context are the key elements.”
The focus for the June 1 event will be to collect feedback and discuss opportunities to define the rules that will guide how development occurs in the Town. Event organizers want to hear the community’s thoughts on housing opportunities, safe and comfortable pedestrian environments and how to provide a variety of development and re-development options to High River.
The Highwood Memorial Centre is located at 128 5 Avenue S.W. and the event will take place in the Windmill/Sandstone Room. Coffee and refreshments will be available. For more information, please visit www.highriver.ca and click ‘Land Use Bylaw major review’ under the public forums menu.