Respect Resident's Input

Candidate for Councillor, Division 5, Rocky View County

Respect Resident's Input

Many residents have been frustrated over the last several years by County actions that have ignored input provided by residents in public hearings and in developing Area Structure Plans. Frustration reached a peak in 2010 with residents of west Rocky View launching a petition to separate from Rocky View. Proposals such as Watermark that had a great deal of community opposition were approved anyway. This occurred again in 2013 when Bingham Crossing was approved despite a lot of local opposition. In 2017 the Glenbow Ranch Area Structure Plan was approved against the wishes of local residents and the County Plan.

Solutions:

Developer Funded Opposition

Developers should fund the opposition to their proposals. People should not have to expend their own time and money to defend their communities from a proposed development. I would also like to have a Rocky View employee that acts as "Devil's advocate" and is dedicated to helping the opposition with organization and research. Having developers pay for the time and effort of the opposition would also encourage developers to actively work with communities to have dialogue and discussion prior to public hearings, rather than have developers work only to influence decision makers.

Remove "Instant" Third Readings

Separating public hearings into two parts would provide the benefit in two ways. Issues raised during the first part of public hearing may need time for research and evaluation. Secondly, having another hearing at a different time and day of the week would give another opportunity for people to speak to a proposal that may not have been able attend the first scheduled meeting.

Respect Opposition

In late 2009, two websites that opposed council's views and parodied the new county logo were shut down by legal threats from the county. I respect the opinions of others and would hope to learn something from them rather than threatening them with legal action.

Area Structure Plans

Community input is a vital part of the development of Area Structure Plans. Those plans should not be altered without going back to the community. Development proposals that are not part of the ASP would not be considered.

contact John at 403-935-2356 or johmcmurray@gmail.com