One week, three open houses and a whole new vision for the MD of Foothills.
The MD is seeing a flurry of activity as three separate development groups have hosted public meetings to reveal plans for projects in the Aldersyde, DeWinton and Priddis areas. Combined, the three planned communities could see thousands more people call the MD home.
On Dec. 1, a High River open house unveiled details of plans by four developers to build more than 2,200 homes and a small commercial site on a 1,500 acre area east of the Aldersyde overpass. They expect the area to become home to as many as 6,000 people in 25 years.
The second open house, on Dec. 5 at the Red Deer Lake Community Hall, announced plans to build 100 homes on 940 acres near Highway 22 north of Turner Valley.
A third open house set for Dec. 8 at the DeWinton Community Hall was held to unveil the proposed Meadows of DeWinton development near the Okotoks overpass. According to the developer’s website, plans for the community include building 1,500 homes on 476 acres by 2030.
High-density, large-scale development will always raise eyebrows in the MD.
The Foothills is a desirable place to call home and as long as there is a demand people can expect to see new development proposals of all sizes in the coming years.
The challenge to developers and the MD is to do it right. This means adequately addressing concerns over density, infrastructure, and impacts on agriculture and wildlife. Developers will need to listen to those who already call the Foothills home and holding open houses is a good first step.
The next step is in the hands of MD councillors and they’d be wise to take the same advice.
Development is coming and it behooves everyone to get things right at the start.
