News Releases

Council Updates

Posted on: February 26, 2019

Council briefs for February 25, 2019

Best Bar None Comes to Banff
An accreditation program that recognizes excellence in the hospitality/liquor licence trade is coming to Banff. Best Bar None officially launches February 26 in the community. Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) program specialist David Young spoke to council about the program that promotes best practices in the bar industry, especially as it relates to customer and staff safety. Bars can apply for accreditation at http://bestbarnone.ca and are evaluated on policies, staff training, a physical assessment of the facility, and employee interviews. Annual accreditation shows a business’s commitment to service and a safe environment. Best Bar None was invited into the community by Banff Bar Watch, a network run by local businesses. The program will be a partnership between Banff Bar Watch, AGLC, the RCMP, the Town of Banff, and the Banff and Lake Louise Hospitality Association. The program, developed in the UK, is currently operating in Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge and Grande Prairie, with over 160 bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants in Alberta accredited in the program.

New Social Assessment Shows Banff’s Strengths and Issues to Tackle
Council adopted the 2018 Banff Community Social Assessment as a guide for future municipal social planning and program development. Over the past year, information was gathered from interviews with over 700 residents, input from organizations, and federal data. The report provides a snapshot of life in Banff, trends in areas like income and demographics, and identifies strengths and needs in the community. This is the third report of this type, with other published in 2006 and 2014.

The input gathered over the summer was analyzed and summarized into themes. About 230 residents reviewed the summaries in the fall to validate the strengths and needs in our community.

The top five strengths/assets themes:
  • Small Town Community Feel – Residents appreciate what they describe as a “small town community feel.” Many assets such as optimism, positive energy, people caring about each other, recognizing and knowing people and the friendliness of everyone were all mentioned.
  • Appreciation of Nature and Environmental Stewardship – This theme resonated with every age and all community sectors. The community cherishes the outdoors, fresh air, access to trails, ability to lead a healthy lifestyle, environmental stewardship and being surrounded by like-minded people who respect our responsibilities within a national park.
  • Quality and Variety of Services, Amenities and Programs – People value and appreciate the variety of services and facilities available in such a small town. Of note: transit, medical services, recreation facilities, arts and culture.
  • Abundant Work Availability – This was cited by the immigrant and young adult populations as a main reason behind why people are here and why they stay. There is a confidence that there is always work.
  • Population Diversity – Diversity was identified by almost every conversation group as a unique asset in Banff. 
Top five challenges:
  • Cost of Living – The most prevalent theme that emerged throughout this assessment was related to affordability and the costs of living in Banff.
  • Living Where the World Visits – There is concern about the growth of tourism and the impact on the quality of life for residents, wildlife safety, and traffic pressures.
  • Community Wellness – A number of findings emerged that were grouped into this theme. A sense of stress was described as being caused by a number of factors, including housing cost and availability, low wages, difficulty finding childcare, lack of family time because people are working so many hours, concerns about wildfire, wildlife health, and busy traffic during peak visitor times.
  • Places and Spaces for Socialization and Recreation – Residents want places to gather. Banff residents know there are limited places where this can happen, so there is a keen interest in exploring ways that existing places can be used differently. Indoor and outdoor “community hubs” were identified, with easy access in terms of routes to get there, and hours of operation.
  • Shared Understanding – In the age of abundant information and varying ways to learn and engage about a host of topics, residents identified a need for more plain language (less “government-speak”) to be used when providing information from the municipality. There is also a desire for that information to be easier to find.
The Community Social Assessment included data from federal census and tax information. Key findings include:
  • Banff has a young population with the largest segment being 25 to 29 years old, which is 13% of our total population, while for Alberta, that segment represents under 8% of the total population.
  • Banff’s median age is 35; Alberta’s median age is 41
  • Banff has had very little population growth between 2011 and 2016, and the lowest growth out of 10 communities (for comparison: Banff grew by 3.5%; Canmore grew 13.9%; Cochrane grew 47.1%) 
  • 82% of Banff residents who filed taxes have an annual income below $60,000, compared to 65% in Canmore
  • 20% of Banff residents are classified as low income, as compared to 14% for Alberta, 9% in Canmore and 24% in Whistler
  • Rental housing vacancy rate in Banff is 0.6%, and 11.7% in Alberta 
  • 11.6% of Banff residents live in what Statistic Canada classify as “unsuitable dwellings” based on crowding due to an insufficient number of bedrooms in a household for occupancy. This compares to 3% in Canmore, 4.5% in Alberta, and 5.7% in Jasper
While the report has provided some high level areas of focus, further recommendations and specific approaches and action plans will be developed in coming months.
Time will be spent sharing the findings with community groups and organizations and an executive summary document highlighting the primary findings will be produced wider public distribution.

In previous years, the Community Social Assessment has acted as a catalyst for a series of actions and programs that have benefited the community.

The full report on the Community Social Assessment is available at banff.ca/talking

Banff Continues Solar Incentive Program in 2019
Council allocated up to $50,000 to fund the Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Incentive Program for 2019. Funds will come from the Environmental Reserve to provide an incentive for residents and businesses to invest in solar energy.
  
The town offers an up-front rebate program in which participants are funded at a rate of $0.75/Watt of solar capacity installed, to a maximum of 7.5 kW; retroactive to January 1.
The Banff rebate can be combined with the current provincial incentive program through Energy Efficiency Alberta, which provides a rate of $0.90/Watt residential and $0.75/Watt commercial of solar capacity installed.

Council also directed administration to continue to waive development and building permit fees associated with these installations. This program launched in 2015, and saw 14 solar systems installed. In 2016, seven were installed, and in 2017, 11 were installed. In 2018, six systems were installed, including a 10 kW system on the HI Banff Alpine Centre.
Facebook Twitter Email

Other News in Council Updates

Council briefs for May 8, 2023

Posted on: May 17, 2023

Council briefs for April 24, 2023

Posted on: April 28, 2023

Council briefs for April 10, 2023

Posted on: April 13, 2023

Council briefs for March 27, 2023

Posted on: April 3, 2023

Council briefs for March 13, 2023

Posted on: March 17, 2023

Council briefs for February 27, 2023

Posted on: March 6, 2023

Council briefs for February 13, 2023

Posted on: February 27, 2023

Council briefs for December 19, 2022

Posted on: December 30, 2022

Council briefs for December 12, 2022

Posted on: December 14, 2022

Council briefs for November 28, 2022

Posted on: December 5, 2022

Council briefs for November 14, 2022

Posted on: November 27, 2022

Council briefs for October 24, 2022

Posted on: November 4, 2022

Council briefs for October 11, 2022

Posted on: October 17, 2022

Council briefs for September 26, 2022

Posted on: September 29, 2022

Council briefs for September 12, 2022

Posted on: September 14, 2022

Council briefs for August 8, 2022

Posted on: August 15, 2022

Council briefs for June 13, 2022

Posted on: June 15, 2022

Council briefs for May 24, 2022

Posted on: June 8, 2022

Council briefs for May 9, 2022

Posted on: June 8, 2022

Council briefs for April 25, 2022

Posted on: April 29, 2022

Council briefs for April 11, 2022

Posted on: April 18, 2022

Council briefs for March 28, 2022

Posted on: March 31, 2022

Council briefs for March 14, 2022

Posted on: March 16, 2022

Council briefs for February 28, 2022

Posted on: March 2, 2022

Council briefs for February 14, 2022

Posted on: February 16, 2022

Council briefs for January 24, 2022

Posted on: January 26, 2022

Council briefs for January 12, 2022

Posted on: January 12, 2022

Council briefs for January 10, 2022

Posted on: January 11, 2022

Council briefs for December 13, 2021

Posted on: December 14, 2021

Council briefs for December 6, 2021

Posted on: December 10, 2021
CP crossing

Council briefs for November 22, 2021

Posted on: November 25, 2021

Council briefs for November 8, 2021

Posted on: November 10, 2021

Council briefs for November 1, 2021

Posted on: November 3, 2021

Council briefs for November 9, 2020

Posted on: November 10, 2020

Council briefs for October 26, 2020

Posted on: October 27, 2020

Council briefs for October 13, 2020

Posted on: October 16, 2020

Council Briefs for September 21, 2020

Posted on: September 23, 2020

Council briefs for September 8, 2020

Posted on: September 9, 2020

Council briefs for March 9, 2020

Posted on: March 11, 2020

Council briefs for February 24, 2020

Posted on: February 25, 2020

Council briefs for February 10, 2020

Posted on: February 11, 2020

Council briefs for January 27, 2020

Posted on: February 4, 2020

Council briefs for November 25, 2019

Posted on: November 27, 2019

Council briefs for November 12, 2019

Posted on: November 13, 2019

Council briefs for October 28, 2019

Posted on: October 31, 2019

Council briefs for October 15, 2019

Posted on: October 16, 2019

Council briefs for September 23, 2019

Posted on: October 7, 2019

Council briefs for September 9, 2019

Posted on: September 11, 2019

Council briefs for August 12, 2019

Posted on: August 14, 2019

Council briefs for July 15, 2019

Posted on: July 16, 2019

Council briefs for June 24, 2019

Posted on: June 25, 2019

Council briefs for June 10, 2019

Posted on: June 21, 2019

Council briefs for May 13, 2019

Posted on: May 15, 2019

Council briefs for April 23, 2019

Posted on: April 25, 2019

Council briefs for April 8, 2019

Posted on: April 11, 2019

Council briefs for March 25, 2019

Posted on: March 27, 2019

Council briefs for March 11, 2019

Posted on: March 12, 2019

Council briefs for February 11, 2019

Posted on: February 12, 2019

Council briefs for January 28, 2019

Posted on: January 30, 2019

Council Briefs for January 14, 2019

Posted on: January 16, 2019

Council briefs for December 19, 2018

Posted on: January 16, 2019

Council briefs for December 10, 2018

Posted on: December 12, 2018

Council briefs for November 26, 2018

Posted on: November 27, 2018

Council briefs for November 13, 2018

Posted on: November 15, 2018

Council briefs for October 22, 2018

Posted on: October 25, 2018

Council briefs for September 24, 2018

Posted on: September 26, 2018

Council briefs for September 10, 2018

Posted on: September 12, 2018

Council briefs for August 13, 2018

Posted on: August 15, 2018

Council briefs for July 16, 2018

Posted on: July 18, 2018

Council briefs for June 25, 2018

Posted on: June 27, 2018

Council briefs for June 11, 2018

Posted on: June 13, 2018

Council briefs for May 28, 2018

Posted on: May 29, 2018

Council briefs for May 14, 2018

Posted on: May 15, 2018

Council briefs for April 30, 2018

Posted on: May 1, 2018

Council briefs for April 23, 2018

Posted on: April 25, 2018

Council briefs for April 9, 2018

Posted on: April 10, 2018

Council briefs for March 26, 2018

Posted on: March 27, 2018

Council briefs for January 22, 2018

Posted on: January 23, 2018

Council Briefs for January 15, 2018

Posted on: January 16, 2018

Council briefs for January 8, 2018

Posted on: January 10, 2018

Council briefs for December 18, 2017

Posted on: December 19, 2017

Council briefs for December 11, 2017

Posted on: December 12, 2017

Council briefs for November 27, 2017

Posted on: November 29, 2017

Council briefs for October 10, 2017

Posted on: October 11, 2017

Council Briefs for September 25, 2017

Posted on: September 27, 2017

Council briefs for September 11, 2017

Posted on: September 12, 2017

Council briefs for August 14, 2017

Posted on: August 15, 2017

Council briefs for July 17, 2017

Posted on: July 19, 2017

Council briefs for June 26, 2017

Posted on: June 27, 2017

Council briefs for June 12, 2017

Posted on: June 13, 2017

Council briefs for May 23, 2017

Posted on: May 24, 2017

Council briefs for May 8, 2017

Posted on: May 9, 2017

Council briefs for April 24, 2017

Posted on: April 26, 2017

Council briefs for April 10, 2017

Posted on: April 11, 2017

Council briefs for March 27, 2017

Posted on: March 28, 2017

Council briefs for March 13, 2017

Posted on: March 13, 2017

Council briefs for February 27, 2017

Posted on: February 28, 2017

Council briefs for February 13, 2017

Posted on: February 14, 2017

Council briefs for January 25, 2017

Posted on: January 25, 2017

Council briefs for January 23, 2017

Posted on: January 24, 2017

Council briefs for January 9, 2017

Posted on: January 10, 2017

Council briefs for November 28, 2016

Posted on: November 29, 2016

Council briefs for November 14, 2016

Posted on: November 16, 2016

Council briefs for October 24, 2016

Posted on: October 25, 2016

Council briefs for October 11, 2016

Posted on: October 12, 2016

Council briefs for September 26, 2016

Posted on: September 28, 2016

Council briefs for July 18, 2016

Posted on: July 19, 2016

Council briefs for June 27, 2016

Posted on: June 28, 2016

Council briefs for June 13, 2016

Posted on: June 14, 2016

Council briefs for May 9, 2016

Posted on: May 10, 2016

Council briefs for April 25, 2016

Posted on: April 26, 2016

Council briefs for April 11, 2016

Posted on: April 11, 2016

Council briefs for March 29, 2016

Posted on: March 30, 2016

Council briefs for March 14, 2016

Posted on: March 17, 2016

Council briefs for February 22, 2016

Posted on: February 23, 2016

Council Briefs for February 8, 2016

Posted on: February 16, 2016

Council briefs for January 25, 2016

Posted on: January 26, 2016

Council briefs for January 11, 2016

Posted on: January 11, 2016

Council briefs for December 7, 2015

Posted on: December 8, 2015

Council briefs for November 23, 2015

Posted on: November 25, 2015

Council Briefs for November 9, 2015

Posted on: November 12, 2015

Council briefs for October 26, 2015

Posted on: October 26, 2015

Council briefs for October 13, 2015

Posted on: October 14, 2015

Council briefs for September 28, 2015

Posted on: September 29, 2015

Council briefs for September 14, 2015

Posted on: September 18, 2015

Council briefs for August 17, 2015

Posted on: August 24, 2015

Council briefs for July 20, 2015

Posted on: July 21, 2015

Council briefs for June 9, 2015

Posted on: June 10, 2015

Council briefs for May 25, 2015

Posted on: May 26, 2015

Council briefs for May 11, 2015

Posted on: May 12, 2015

Council briefs for April 13, 2015

Posted on: April 14, 2015

Council briefs for March 23, 2015

Posted on: March 24, 2015

Council briefs for March 9, 2015

Posted on: March 11, 2015

Council briefs for February 23, 2015

Posted on: February 23, 2015

Council briefs for January 26, 2015

Posted on: January 26, 2015

Council briefs for December 18, 2014

Posted on: December 18, 2014

Council briefs for December 8, 2014

Posted on: December 8, 2014

Council Briefs for November 24, 2014

Posted on: November 25, 2014

Council briefs for November 10, 2014

Posted on: November 10, 2014

Council Briefs for October 27, 2014

Posted on: October 29, 2014

Council Briefs for October 14, 2014

Posted on: October 15, 2014

Council Briefs for September 22, 2014

Posted on: September 23, 2014

Council briefs for September 8, 2014

Posted on: September 9, 2014

Council Briefs for August 18, 2014

Posted on: August 19, 2014

Council Briefs for July 21, 2014

Posted on: July 22, 2014

Council Briefs for June 23, 2014

Posted on: June 24, 2014

Council Briefs for June 9, 2014

Posted on: June 10, 2014

Council Briefs for May 12, 2014

Posted on: May 14, 2014

Council briefs for April 28, 2014

Posted on: April 30, 2014

Council Briefs for April 14, 2014

Posted on: April 15, 2014

Council Briefs for March 24, 2014

Posted on: March 25, 2014

Council Briefs for March 10, 2014

Posted on: March 11, 2014

Council Briefs for February 24, 2014

Posted on: February 25, 2014

Council Briefs for February 10, 2014

Posted on: February 12, 2014

Council Briefs for January 13, 2014

Posted on: January 14, 2014

Council Briefs December 9, 2013

Posted on: December 10, 2013