Banff Community Plan

Let's plan the Plan!

The Town of Banff is seeking feedback from residents on the 2025 Draft Banff Community Plan.
(See Stage B, below)

This 10-year plan is the Town of Banff's primary guidance document. The plan is intended to communicate the long-term desired land use for the town and serves as a high-level blueprint showing how we want to guide our community changes over time.

Also called a Municipal Development Plan by the Government of Alberta, the Banff Community Plan is a statutory requirement of all Alberta municipalities and is a requirement of the Government of Canada. The plan is required to incorporate direction from the most recent Parks Canada plan--the 2022 Banff National Park Management Plan--and it gathers direction from the Town's previous 10 years of community engagement, master plans and studies.

The 2025 Draft Community Plan has been developed with direction from the Community Plan Steering Committee.

The new plan will replace the 2009 Banff Community Plan.

Public Input

The development of the 2025 Banff Community Plan involves three major stages:

Stage A: Locals Create and Verify Priorities for Banff (2023-2024)

Residents and interest groups were asked for input on the goals and objectives in main topic areas: Community Well-being, Economic Prosperity, Environmental Stewardship, Mobility and Transportation, and Housing For All.

There were a range of subtopics in each area that residents and local organizations provided direction on, to help create policy direction for the next 10 years.

See completed activity in Stage A, below.

The Banff Community Plan Steering Committee synthesized public input and extensive resources to support the development of a new Draft Banff Community Plan. Recent plans, policies, guiding documents and studies used in the development of the draft plan, include, but are not limited to, the following:

• 2024 Lead Tourism For Good 10-Year Vision for Tourism in Banff and Lake Louise
• 2023 Banff Community Social Assessment
• 2023-2026 Town of Banff Strategic Plan
• 2022 Expert Advisory Panel on Moving People Sustainably in Banff National Park
• 2022 Banff National Park Management Plan
• 2009 Banff Community Plan
• Town of Banff Incorporation Agreement
• Canada National Parks Act
• 2016 Town of Banff Long Term Transportation Study
• 2019 Town of Banff Environmental Master Plan
• 2019 Town of Banff Renewable Energy Transition Roadmap
• 2018 Human Wildlife Coexistence Bow Valley Report

Stage B: Feedback on the Draft Community Plan (April-June 2025)

1. Banff residents and local interested groups and organizations are invited to provide feedback on the 2025 Draft Community Plan by answering these key questions:

• Will this Draft Community Plan help get what our community needs and address our priorities?
• What do you like in the Draft Community Plan and why?
• Is anything missing from this Draft Community Plan?

Public Open House and Feedback Session on the Draft Community Plan is scheduled for:

• Wednesday, April 23, 2025
• 3 - 5:30 p.m. (Drop in any time)
• Banff Town Hall

Feedback Questionnaire on Draft Community Plan

• April 7-30, 2025
• Available online, below, or at Banff Town Hall or by request to CommunityPlan@banff.ca

Written Feedback Emailed to the Project Manager

• You can send feedback about the draft plan at any time between April 7 and April 30 directly to the project manager by sending an email to CommunityPlan@Banff.ca

2. National public input on the Draft Community Plan and specialized Engagement with Indigenous Peoples. The creation of a draft plan also triggers a Strategic Environmental Assessment in collaboration with Parks Canada. The latter stages of the draft plan will undergo extensive scrutiny to ensure alignment with the Banff National Park Management Plan and the National Parks Act.

3. Banff Town Council First Reading of Bylaw for Banff Community Plan

• Tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m. on Monday, May 26, 2025
• The first reading is a formal introduction of a bylaw to adopt the community plan. There is no council debate at the first reading, nor a vote on the bylaw's merits. A vote on first reading indicates whether to proceed with further discussion. A bylaw requires three readings.
  • Public input to Council is welcome at the beginning of all regularly scheduled Council meetings on any topic on the day's meeting agenda. Learn about providing input.

4. Public Hearing before Banff Town Council

Public hearings are a crucial part of the bylaw and community planning process in Alberta, as outlined in the Municipal Government Act. The purpose of a public hearing is to provide a platform for the public to:

• Communicate concerns and express support for or against the proposed bylaw
• Share their views on the draft plan
• Participate through written or oral submissions

Council's role is to listen to public input, ask questions to clarify concerns and inform their decision-making process.

A Public Hearing is proposed to occur at 2 pm. on Monday, June 23, 2025 (date and time to be set by Town Council)

How to participate:

• Sign up to speak at the entrance of Council Chamber on the day of the Public Hearing, or signal your intent to speak at the start of the public hearing. The chair of the meeting will ask for people to speak to Council.
• Register in advance to speak in at the Public Hearing
• Submit written comments in advance of the hearing to the Municipal Clerk for comments to be included in the agenda for Council consideration.

After the Public Hearing, Town Council will no longer receive public input.

The bylaw to adopt the community plan is then placed on a subsequent council agenda for second and third readings, where Council debate and amendments can occur. The third reading is the last opportunity for Council to debate, amend, and vote on a proposed bylaw.

Under the provisions of the Town of Banff Incorporation Agreement, the minister responsible for Parks Canada or their designate must give final approval to the bylaw to adopt the community plan prior to it coming into effect.

Stage C: Validate the Banff Community Plan (Summer/Fall 2025)

Residents and interested groups will be invited to review revisions to the draft plan that incorporate input from previous stages, federal feedback and considerations from the Strategic Environmental Assessment. The public input will culminate in a public hearing before Banff Town Council, before final review by the Government of Canada.

Stage A - Complete

Public Drop-in Sessions

Residents were invited to public information sessions to learn more about the community plan and provide feedback on key topic areas, challenges, and opportunities.

Public drop-in sessions:

• July 5, 2023, Banff Town Hall
• July 17, 2023, Banff Town Hall
• July 30, 2023, pavilion building in the Banff Recreation Grounds

Pop-up Info Tents
The Town conducted outreach at the Banff Farmers Market, the Banff Avenue Pedestrian Zone, and other venues to provide information about the Community Plan and the update process, and to promote opportunities for providing input.

Special Interest Focus Groups and Information Sessions in 2023

• Banff Housing Corporation, May 17
• Banff Public Art Committee, May 17
• Banff Heritage Corporation, May 18
• Project team attendance at engagement session for 2023 Community Social Assessment, May 24
• Banff Mineral Springs Hospital Board, June 5
• Project team attendance at engagement BanffLife session for 2023 Community Social Assessment, June 13, (ages 18-30)
• BLLHA Focus Group, Wednesday, June 28, at 9 am
• Project team attendance at engagement session for 2023 Community Social Assessment, June 28
• Town of Banff Staff Input & Engagement Session - Tuesday, July 18
• Banff Seniors Society - Tuesday, August 8
• Bow Valley Immigration Partnership (BVIP) - Wednesday, August 9
• Environmental NGO Stakeholder Input Session - Thursday, August 10
• Industrial Compound Stakeholder Input Session - Thursday, August 17 from 4-5:30 p.m., Roam Transit Operations & Training Centre, 111 Hawk Avenue

Online Engagement
The Town of Banff hosted public input on the Community Plan on this page. Community members were encouraged to attend one of the in-person sessions above before the survey was launched.

Stage A - What We Heard Summary Report

• What We Heard Report (PDF)

Background

What is the Banff Community Plan?

The Community Plan describes the long-term vision for the Town of Banff. It identifies goals and policy direction to guide decisions on municipal planning, land use management and growth management, for decades to come. The plan envisions how the community is expected to change over time and provides a guidebook to help direct the changes in the right direction.

Why are we updating the Banff Community Plan

The Banff Community Plan (Municipal Development Plan) is a statutory plan prepared by the municipality under the authority of the Municipal Government Act (MGA, RSA 2000, s. 632) and Article 5.4 of the Incorporation Agreement. All municipalities in Alberta, regardless of size, are required to prepare and have an MDP. Within five years of approval of the new Banff National Park of Canada Management Plan, the Town of Banff is required to table an updated community plan in Parliament.

What will the Banff Community Plan achieve?

The revised and updated Banff Community Plan should reaffirm the core vision and guiding principles of the Town and address the broader issue of development, in terms of how the town will continue to thrive within the finite area of the town, limits and requirements of living in a national park, future infrastructure requirements, municipal financing, environmental protection, social planning initiatives, culture, heritage, tourism and economic prosperity, and place making.

The updated plan should also strengthen the concept of sustainability in terms of climate change adaptation strategies and actions, the transition to renewable energy, transportation and mobility, urban design and enhancing the public realm, community services, social and cultural progress, and strengthening Indigenous relations.

The Banff Community Plan is unique in that it must be consistent with the Banff National Park of Canada Management Plan, the principles of no net negative environmental impact, environmental stewardship, and heritage conservation, and accord with any guidelines established by the federal Minister of the Environment for appropriate activities within the park community. It must also describe:

• the purposes and objectives of the community;
• the lands comprising the community and its commercial zones, and the maximum permitted commercial floor area in those commercial zones as described in Schedule 4 of the Canada National Parks Act;
• the strategy for commercial growth management;
• the highest and best use of community lands while preserving the intent and character of residential, public service, environmental protection and public park lands in the community;
• the strategy for preservation, protection, and commemoration of heritage resources;
• the approach to becoming a model community in respect of environmental management, sustainable development and tourism with a goal of no net negative environmental impact; and
• a description of the regular monitoring and reporting on no net negative environmental framework of the community.

This plan serves as a record of the choices about the community’s future. This policy document will affect the use of publicly and privately owned property, and the infrastructure and services that are needed to support the intended uses.

The plan describes the desired physical layout of activities and features that will be accommodated within Banff’s land base – what goes where – commercial, residential, public space for residents/visitors, community amenities, social requirements and services, municipal infrastructure… for the next few decades.

Project Team

The project team consists of the Manager, Strategic initiatives + Special Projects; the Director, Planning and Development; and the Director, Communications. The project team is dedicated to meaningful and transparent engagement.

Steering Committee

Engagement activities for the review and the overall update of the Banff Community Plan are guided by a Steering Committee of local representatives, struck in November 2022, and a public input strategy developed by the Town of Banff.

For more information, please email the project team at CommunityPlan@banff.ca