A public hearing on Bylaw 380, a land use amending bylaw regarding apartment housing parking, was held at 9 a.m. The bylaw proposes incorporating provisions of Policy C122 – Residential Apartment Housing/Off-Street Parking and Alternative Transportation Standards, into the land use bylaw. It would allow for a reduction in off-street parking requirements for new apartment housing developments, under certain site-specific circumstances. Thirteen people spoke at the meeting, and 17 provided written submissions. They’re available at
http://banff.ca/AgendaCenter. Council will review the bylaw at a special meeting on Wednesday, January 25 at 9 a.m.
Council was given briefing on the 2017 property assessments. A chart showing the taxable assessment totals by taxation year was provided, including 2017 figures which show an assessment total of $2,470,000,000, with residential representing $1,407,000,000 and non-residential $1,063,000,000. Assessments should be mailed out in the coming weeks. Details on property assessments are available at
http://banff.ca/assessment.
Bow Valley Parent Link supervisor Ellen Thuringer briefed council on the organization and the work they do. The program is a collaborative partnership between the Town of Banff, Town of Canmore and MD of Bighorn to provide programs and services for families with children under six years old. Drop-in participation has been steadily increasing in Banff due in part to the expansion and renovations of the Banff Parent Link Centre at 101 Bear Street. Council had approved expanding the facility in 2015 with a budget of $125,000. Now the room is able to serve over 40 children and their caregivers at once, and Thuringer said they no longer have to turn anyone away from programs due to space constraints.
Bow Valley Early Childhood Development Coalition coordinator Patricia de Boer gave an update to council on the group’s services and how they support Banff families. The coalition brings together service providers and stakeholders who share a common goal of supporting children and families through coordinated and collaborative work. They currently have approx. 75 Bow Valley members with representation from schools, community groups, daycares, day homes, Alberta Health Services, and more. The collaboration allows them to collect data about the development of Bow Valley Kindergarten children, and focus programs on areas of concern. Some of the programs that have been launched in the Bow Valley include the spring and fall Early Years Fairs, a monthly young children’s calendar, a Gearing Up for Kindergarten program, and a social media presence.
A summary of the family school liaison program’s 2016 activities was presented to council. The family school liaison worker programs and services strive to enhance the well-being of families and community through prevention work geared towards children, youth and families. There was a focus on a number of programs in 2016, including youth and family counselling, an anxious children and youth panel with 70 participants, Ready Set Go Kindergarten program to prepare preschoolers and parents for Kindergarten classes, social media presentation to parents on real world consequences to online behaviours, and an underage drinking panel with presentations on legalities of underage drinking and parent strategies/protective factors.