A bid to stop the work of a regional planning board because of the coronavirus crisis has been shot down, as a government review into their work continues..Members of a Calgary Metropolitan Region Board committee voted 6-3 Thursday morning to keep their operations ongoing..The move comes after a $3-billion development west of Calgary was shelved last month, with operators partly blaming the NDP-formed committee as just another layer of bureaucracy they have to go through..Greg Boehlke, of Rocky View County, brought forward the motion for the CMRB to cease operations until the pandemic has ended saying “there are more important issues.”.He said the continued operation of the board during the pandemic was “a vulgar display of using taxpayer dollars.”.But Calgary Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra was against the motion saying it was important “to keep staff working..“Some work must go forward. Some work must be changed. Some work must be delayed,” he said..Bill Robertson, the mayor of Okotoks, argued in favour of the motion, saying the board must be “as prudent as possible with taxpayer dollars.”.In a letter, Western Securities (WS) – the backers of the $3-billion Gardner project off Hwy. 8 – told the Jason Kenney government the CMRB was one of the reasons they were shuttering the project. They had been working on the proposal for 16 years..“At every turn, Calgary has blocked or bullied Rocky View County from approving the project. This after us spending millions of dollars on planning and engineering studies. And now, the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board, with Calgary directing regional planning decisions, is the last straw for Western.,” WS President Ryan O’Connor wrote in the letter obtained by the Western Standard..The project would have seen mixed use residential / commercial development with over 2,000 homes and approximately 300,000 sq.ft. of retail / commercial development, seniors housing and a sports centre. .Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Kaycee Madu is looking into the CMRB’s actions..When asked by the Western Standard if the government had any plans to scrap the CMRB, Municipal Affairs spokesman Tim Gerwing replied: “The Minister is currently reviewing the efficacy of Growth Management Boards in Alberta and all options are on the table.”.Sources have told the Western Standard other projects around Calgary are also now in jeopardy because of the excessive red tape..“We are very concerned about reports of Growth Management Boards hindering responsible economic development in our province. The Minister is considering this in his review,” said Gerwing, adding the 16 years it took WS to get to this stage as “an overly-long timeline for development..“The government is working extremely hard to eliminate red tape and pass policies that inspire investment and job-creation in our province. Municipal Affairs, in particular, has been a leader in red tape reduction within government. The Minister is reviewing Growth Management Boards to see whether they align with the government’s goals and will have more to say on this soon” said Gerwing..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter: @Nobby7694
