Wide lot sizes make nearby Crossfield the anti-Calgary

If you’re looking to build a new home on a 50 foot lot, the Town of Crossfield will welcome you with open arms. There’s nothing that the town of 3,000 people wants more than to not be Calgary.

Town councilors were 100% in favour of amending the Municipal Development Plan that was adopted some years ago when the town was part of the Calgary Regional Partnership.  That plan called for creating higher density, similar to the path that development in the City of Calgary was following.  However, Crossfield which is 10 minutes north of Airdrie, opted out of the CRP in late 2011 and now a motion has been approved to undensify, as it were.

The former plan called for residential development in the town to come in at 8 units per acre to a maximum of 10.  The new amendment will allow for 6 units per acre and the municipal administration couldn’t be happier.

The fact that upwards of 10 homes had to be squeezed onto an acre in Crossfield, one of the requirements stipulated by members of the CRP, was one of the reasons why the town wanted out of the organization.   The distaste for following in the big city’s lead was held by both citizen and residential developer groups who were not in favour of creating more density in Crossfield.

Crossfield residents were vocal in saying they don’t want to follow Calgary’s lead and town councilors heard their pleas and were receptive.  If developers want to build density into a project or subdivision, and it is appropriate to do so, they can apply for a relaxation but it will be an exemption rather than normal policy.

The amendment passed earlier this summer was more of a formality, according to the Mayor of Crossfield, Nathan Anderson as there are no permit applications on the books for an 8 to 10 unit per acre development nor have there been any.   He referred to the change as housekeeping and an important step towards keeping Crossfield’s identity and independence.

Anderson said that Crossfield isn’t yearning to be one of Calgary’s bedroom communities and keeping that small town feeling with plenty of elbow room, which he said was urban rural, is part of the town’s charm.

Therefore, lot sizes in Crossfield will remain at 50 feet, once a standard width in the City of Calgary prior to 1980.  This lot size will remain until such time as the Province of Alberta approves revisions to the Municipal Government Act which will mandate the formation of growth management boards throughout the province.

The town was founded in 1892 as a whistle stop and was given official town status in 1980. While many people do indeed commute from Crossfield to the city, the town’s economy is based mostly on agricultural services and natural gas processing.

Crossfield administration is adamant that their town, 50 km north of Calgary on QEII Highway, remain autonomous, creating its own bylaws and agenda for expansion within the Municipal District of Rockyview.  That is, until the province flexes its muscle.