Community members and stakeholders were invited to an open house on the community of Greystone last Wednesday (June 14).

Roughly 100 people attended the evening event which garnered lots of attention as community members viewed the conceptual development slated for the Burnco lands.

Veronica Kennedy, Communications and Marketing Advisor for B and A Planning Group, says the plan has come a long way since their first open house September 2016. "At that point we were basically looking at high-level land use concepts. The next plan we submitted was the March 2017 CEE (Community Enhancement Evaluation) meeting with town council where we presented a more detailed neighbourhood plan. People were really interested in seeing how we used feedback from administration, council, and finally the community to evolve the plan to what it is today."

Kennedy shares roughly 70% of feedback was either neutral or positive in nature which she believes stems from the fact that since day one, community engagement has been top priority. "To make sure their input was included in the plan and make sure this project is really a reflection of the needs, interests, and priorities of the Cochrane public."

Some revisions that were duly noted was improved density transition. "On the west side of the site we reduced the residential density from 6.1 to 4.8 units per acre; we heard from both the public and council that they wanted to see more single family homes in our plan. So our single family home increased from 19% to 46% and in turn decreased our semi detached units from 50% down to 25%." The other big revision made was to green space throughout the community. "We have increased the overall green space by 2.4 acres and we now have seven open spaces in the plan including four parks, a major play field which has both baseball diamonds and soccer fields, and an urban plaza as well." 

A transportation impact assessment was also revealed at the open house. "At this open house what we did is we've identified a series of improvements that would have to be made as the plan moves forward; including some new stop controlled intersections, improvements on River Avenue in terms of painting lanes, on-street parking, and sidewalks." The potential long term phasing of the development (2018-2028) is designed to coincide with the Regional Transportation Network Improvements which will be coming in future years.

The planning group's extensive consultation campaign has not only helped move the plan along but be more publicly accepted than some other developments. Kennedy, shares with Greystone being an in-fill development located in the heart of Cochrane, they need to get the concept 'right'. "We really we want to make sure it adds to not only the downtown vibrancy but Cochrane as a whole; and it can support Cochrane's economic growth and fill the need for more industrial/ commercial sites within Cochrane."

The new community will see roughly 1800- 2000 residents with a primary focus on a space in which people can live, work, and play offering a variety of housing options and employment opportunities.

B and A Planning Group is in the process of compiling a 'What We Heard' report stemming from feedback at the open house as well as one on one stakeholder engagement, the report will be released in a few weeks and the information will be found on their website here. Greystone will resubmit the proposed Area Structure plan for Council Approval in August.