Banff Community Plan
Let's plan the Plan!
The Town of Banff is reviewing and updating the current Banff Community Plan to ensure it aligns with the desires and needs of residents, and the recently adopted Banff National Park of Canada Management Plan. Revising and updating a community plan involves a process to help make these decisions and serves as a record of the choices that have been made for the community’s benefit. Key attributes of a good community plan include:
- A long-term, strategic focus on what the community wants to be like
- A plan of where key activities occur, including growth, within the community’s land base
- Guidance on how to achieve the desired long-term vision and the decisions that will need to be made to implement the direction contained in the plan
- Policy direction on the most important topics for the Town over the next 30 years
- Directions that reflect a high degree of community support that balances the interests of individuals and groups with the needs of the community at large. For example, finding space for affordable housing.
Public Input
Public input is collected in three major stages:
Stage A: Create and Verify Priorities for Banff (June-August, 2023)
Residents and interest groups will be asked for input on the goals and objectives in these main topic areas: Community Well-being, Economic Prosperity, Environmental Stewardship, Mobility and Transportation, and Housing For All. There are a range of subtopics in each area that people can provide direction on, as well as other topics, to help create policy direction for the next 10 years.
Stage B: Feedback on the Draft Community Plan (September - October 2024)
People in Banff and special interest groups and organizations will be asked to give feedback on the Draft Community Plan, and its goals:
- Will this Draft Community Plan help get what our community needs, will it address our priorities?
- What do you like in the Draft Community Plan and why?
- Is anything missing from the draft plan?
This stage will also involve national public input on the draft plan and specialized engagement with Indigenous Peoples. The creation of a draft plan also starts 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.
Stage C: Validate the Banff Community Plan (May-July 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
Please review this participant handbook (PDF) and then complete the online survey.
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:
- Date: Wednesday, July 5, 2023
- Location: Banff Town Hall, 110 Bear Street, Banff
- Date: Monday, July 17, 2023
- Location: Banff Town Hall, 110 Bear Street, Banff
- Date: Sunday, July 30, 2023
- Location: new pavilion building in the Banff Recreation Grounds
- Location: new 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
The Banff Community Plan Review and Update involves three distinct stages of public engagement. In Stage A, the project team sought input from residents and stakeholders to help set goals and targets for the future of Banff. We wanted to confirm where we should be focusing our efforts, and what challenges and opportunities are ahead of us. This report is a summary of the engagement activities and efforts in Stage A and what we heard through these avenues of input.
Background
The Banff Community Plan is the Town’s primary long-range planning document and is a statement of the goals, objectives, principles, and planning philosophy for the community’s future. It is similar to a Municipal Development Plan in other Alberta municipalities. The existing Banff Community Plan must be updated in accordance with new policy direction in the recently approved Banff National Park of Canada Management Plan.
The updated Community Plan must meet all of the criteria listed in Alberta’s Municipal Government Act for municipal development plans and be consistent with the provisions of Section 33 of the Canada National Parks Act for Park Communities.
Goals for Updating the Plan
- Provide opportunities for all interested groups and members of the public to provide input for consideration in the update of the Banff Community Plan
- Ensure that the Banff Community Plan is aligned with other land use, transportation, social, cultural, environmental, and economic objectives in Banff through consultation with other governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations with responsibilities in the areas
- Enhance the community’s understanding of the role of the Banff Community Plan, including its relationship with the Banff National Park of Canada Management Plan and Canada National Parks Act
- Build public and stakeholder support for the new Banff Community Plan
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
