3.1 Calgary Metropolitan Regional Board Growth Plan (2022)

At an even broader level, Section 3.5.4 of the Calgary Metropolitan Regional Board Growth Plan (effective 2022) does provide some direction on recreation. It stresses the importance of regional collaboration and the value of consistent data collection to support Evidence Based Decision Making.

The CMRB also has developed a report entitled Options for Enhancing Regional Recreation (2020) that provides some direction as to how the Town could establish regional relationships in the provision of recreation and parks. This would obviously be beyond the strong and effective relationship the Town already has with Foothills County through the Shared Service Agreement and the joint ownership of the Cavalry FC Regional Field House.

Section 7 of the 2021 Municipal Development Plan provides guidance regarding parks, recreation and natural areas. There is a clear focus on conserving, restoring and protecting local ecosystems, and strengthening the connections between residents and nature. Other priorities include:

• Maintaining a healthy urban forest

• Providing accessible recreation and leisure opportunities

• Enhancing linkages, embracing all seasons and considering life cycle costs in service delivery

• Enhancing access to and equity in recreation participation

• Focus on capacity building

• Using data better

• Implementing a parks and open spaces classification system

There is also some guidance in the MDP related to siting recreation amenities and a strong requirements for all new developments to include recreation amenities.