You read that right: Last Tuesday, Canmore’s Town Council and Mayor unanimously passed the first reading of the TSMV and Smith Creek ASPs. This is the first in a 3-step process towards approval of plans to double the size of Canmore, send urban sprawl all the way to Dead Man’s Flats, congest our already overwhelmed streets and trailheads, further stress wildlife in a continentally significant wildlife corridor, make a mockery of our town’s declared climate emergency, and expose us, the taxpayer, to a lot of financial risk. That’s right, contrary to what TSMV says, your municipal taxes are likely to go up, not down, if the development proceeds (you can read more here under “What’s At Risk?”).
Normally, there are many Town-led open houses and information sessions to help citizens understand proposals of this magnitude but, strangely, nothing impartial is being offered by the Town now. Are they relying on the developer-led phone surveys and so-called TSMV-led advisory group that saw at least one community representative quit?
This is the democratic vacuum in which we revamped bowvalleyengage.com and have now organized a community-led Zoom panel of local experts to help you understand the financial, wildlife, climate, affordability, and quality of life risks of this project that will happen February 23 from 7-9PM. Please sign up here and get your friends to sign up as well.
Finally, keep the letters to Council flowing. We’ve made it easy for you to do so via our Take Action portal, which is now set up to submit your letter to the official Town record (which means they may become public in the the package that goes to Council before the hearing).
If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for our mailing list so we can keep you updated as the process heats up.
Have a great day!