BVCA letter to the editor regarding Palliser Trail ASP adoption

Canmore Council unanimously approved the Palliser Trail area structure plan (ASP) at its Tuesday (Nov. 7) meeting. The Palliser Trail ASP is real action on affordability, liveability, and environmental stewardship.

The Bow Valley Climate Action Society (BVCA) commends Town of Canmore administration, council, and Canmore Community Housing for their excellent work on the Palliser ASP. We commend the Town's leadership in tackling the affordability and climate crises facing our communities.

The Palliser lands are publicly-owned. The Town controls what it builds there. No haggling and fighting with developers. The Town is the developer.

The overwhelming majority of new homes in Palliser will be non-market affordable housing. Nearly a thousand affordable homes. These affordable homes will have legal protections to remain affordable. And they will be built to high energy efficiency standards.

Making homes more energy-efficient is essential to tackling climate change. But just as importantly, energy-efficient homes are affordable homes. Less energy use means lower utility bills. Now, and into the future.

For decades to come, residents will benefit from these better homes: lower bills, quieter, more comfortable, and more resilient to extreme weather and wildfire smoke.

The Town's work to create this ASP was excellent. It was fast, but thorough. It took the Town's commitments, challenges, and aspirations seriously. It engaged meaningfully with the community, and delivered a much-improved final plan.

Canmore is setting an example for the sort of homes we can and should be building. This is the environmental and climate leadership that we need. 

The climate crisis and affordability crisis can sometimes feel overwhelming. But real progress is happening. It can be more difficult than we wish it was. And it can be slower than we wish it was. But that makes it essential to celebrate progress when it happens. And to thank those who worked so hard to deliver it. Well done, Canmore.

Edmund Ong,

Diana MacGibbon,

Rick Daniel,

on behalf of Bow Valley Climate Action Society