The Town of Banff is calling on residents to help update its Community Plan – the top plan that guides all decisions in the municipality for the next 10 years. The Community Plan sets policy direction that affects the daily lives of all residents and visitors, ranging from housing, recreation, commercial development, environmental protection, transportation management and support services for residents.
“The decisions we make over the next 10 years will shape our community for the next 30 years, so we must make sure our Community Plan’s goals and strategies reflect our residents’ vision for Banff’s future,” said Corrie DiManno, Mayor of Banff. “This opportunity to adjust our ‘plan of plans’ comes around only once a decade, and we want to make sure people who live in Banff, and businesses, have their say.”
The next public drop-in session is on Monday, July 17, at Banff Town Hall from 2 to 6 p.m. These sessions are the best way for Banff citizens to provide input on their vision for the future of the Town. The five main topic areas currently under review are housing, transportation, economy, community well-being and environmental protection.
For more opportunities to participate in public sessions visit the project web page at BanffViewpoints.ca/CommunityPlan. Residents can also provide input through an online survey on the project page.
Public input on the Community Plan is occurring in two main stages:
- Input on goals in the main topic areas (June - September 2022)
- Feedback on the draft Community Plan (November 2023 - March 2024)
The Banff Community Plan is the Town’s primary long-range planning document and is a statement of the goals, objectives, principles and planning philosophy for the community’s future. The community plan will serve as a record of the choices that have been made for the community’s benefit.
Community Plans, also called Municipal Development Plans in Alberta municipalities, are updated roughly every 10 years. The last Banff Community Plan was finalized with approval from the federal minister overseeing national parks in 2009. As the needs of our citizens and our responsibility to the planet changes, so must our plans for the future.
The Community Plan will be updated and modernized in accordance with the new Banff National Park of Canada Management Plan released by the federal government late last year. As Canada’s first national park situated in the heart of the iconic Rocky Mountains, the Town of Banff and Banff National Park carry a responsibility to demonstrate excellence in conservation science and protected area management, while welcoming and providing memorable experiences to four million visitors each year.
