Crowsnest Pass residents voice frustration over land rezoning at public hearing

Usually, a land rezoning is pretty routine for municipalities, but that’s not the case in the Municipal District of the Crowsnest Pass.

Dozens of residents filled council chambers and the hallway outside for a public hearing on Tuesday.

Most were there to speak out against the rezoning of lands near residential areas.

The two parcels of land are in Blairmore and Bellevue.

The properties are before council to be rezoned as non-urban tourism accommodation and recreation.

If approved, that would make way for the sites to be developed into campgrounds.

“They’re really not following the voice of local residents. A lot of people are not happy with a single focus of tourism. Residents have voiced that. We need a balance in our community. Residents have felt that their voices have not been heard,” said Mindy Pawluk, a resident who spoke at the hearing.

“That is why there’s been such an opposition. … Because it’s for 67 acres of land directly adjacent to a residential community—a well-established residential community.”

Many also take issue with how the lands were sold.

More than a hundred letters of opposition were submitted.

Opponents claim no one else was given the opportunity to buy the parcels.

“In this case, land is being taken out of the recreational bank. And so based on that alone, I don’t think the procedures were followed,” said Doreen Johnson, who spoke in opposition to the rezoning at the hearing.

Residents have a wide range of concerns over the proposed rezonings.

Issues include residents losing access to the land and limiting new housing developments for locals.

Some also believe developments could impact historical resources in the region.

The Blairmore site is believed to contain Indigenous and paleontological artifacts.