Canmore council approves 25-year downtown redevelopment plan — with some final changes

Karina Zapata · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 08, 2025 6:48 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 hours ago

Canmore councillors unanimously approved a hefty, 25-year country redevelopment program for its downtown connected Tuesday, aft making immoderate last changes to the document.

The program — dubbed 'Connect Downtown: Planning a Vibrant Centre' — is billed arsenic a roadmap to usher the improvement of Canmore's municipality centre until 2050, arsenic the municipality navigates an expanding fig of visitors and an ongoing lodging crisis.

It's been successful the works since 2023. Council was scheduled to ballot connected the program successful precocious May, but aft a lengthy nationalist proceeding earlier that month, councillors asked medication to marque a bid of changes to the program and postponed the ballot to July.

During that hearing, residents raised concerns, chiefly related to density, greenish abstraction and parking.

Proposed changes

Among the database of requested changes, councillors wanted to restrict gathering heights on Main Street and 10th Street to two-and-a-half storeys, with nary variances allowed.

They besides asked municipality medication to designate Eklof Park arsenic a parkland space, aft erstwhile discussions astir rezoning the onshore for affordable lodging came nether occurrence from residents.

Councillors besides wanted to marque it optional alternatively than imperishable for Canmore's Main Street to beryllium closed to pedestrians each year, alternatively than seasonally arsenic it stands now.

Additionally, they wanted to marque it clearer that immoderate nonaccomplishment of aboveground parking abstraction would beryllium offset by accrued parking elsewhere successful the downtown.

Final changes

At a municipality assembly gathering connected Tuesday, assembly heard municipality administrators' assessments of immoderate changes.

Josh Cairns, elder argumentation planner and pb of the downtown plan, said Eklof Park tin beryllium preserved arsenic a greenish abstraction without changing the designation. So that batch remains designated arsenic a municipal reserve.

But helium besides said restricting gathering heights to two-and-a-half storeys would person unintended consequences.

"Ultimately, what is going to extremity up happening is alternatively than fulfilling council's intent of limiting gathering heights and minimizing shadowing, it's going to unit each developments to follow a circumstantial extortion type, similar a gabled oregon a hep roof," said Cairns.

"What that does is it mightiness compromise the quality of the area, the entreaty and the ocular aesthetic of the country without adjacent needfully minimizing shadows, because you tin inactive person a gabled extortion that goes up to a afloat 11 metres."

He added that it could forestall the municipality from preserving and enhancing immoderate historical resources.

After proceeding that assessment, Mayor Sean Krausert moved to backpedal connected that change.

Now, arsenic it did before, the program states that building heights shall not transcend 11 metres and that plan efforts — specified arsenic stepbacks — should beryllium made to marque 3rd storeys look little imposing.

"What I heard was … the concerns that were raised tin already beryllium met with the archetypal wording. And so, arsenic such, I decided I'd similar the archetypal wording and would similar to debar those unforeseen and oregon unintended consequences," said Krausert.

There was an effort made to region the enactment for a year-round pedestrian portion and lone support the seasonal zone, but that was voted down by council.

'This is an fantabulous document'

Canmore's politician said this program for the downtown has been needed for a agelong time.

"I deliberation that this is an fantabulous document," said Krausert.

"I judge that there's been fantabulous nationalist engagement and we had a truly fantabulous nationalist proceeding successful which we listened and determination were changes made arsenic a effect of what we heard."

A fig of councillors thanked each other, medication and the nationalist for their collaboration connected getting the program to the decorativeness line.

"Some of the topics that got brought up were not easy. It made america basal up present and deliberation thoughtfully astir what we were astir to do, and we didn't hold connected each of those things each the time. And I deliberation that's really a bully thing," said Coun. Wade Graham.