Town of Canmore granted right to appeal order by provincial tribunal on major developments

Alberta's highest court has granted permission for a mountain community west of Calgary to appeal a decision by a provincial tribunal ordering it to allow two major developments that could almost double the town's population.

Canmore town council had rejected the proposed Three Sisters Village and Smith Creek projects, but the Land and Property Rights Tribunal of Alberta ruled in May that both developments could go ahead.

The town then applied for permission to appeal that decision to the Court of Appeal of Alberta.

Justice Jolaine Antonio has ruled that the town can proceed with its appeal on questions of law and jurisdiction.

The two proposals on Canmore's eastern edge include about 80 per cent of the town's remaining developable land and raised concerns about affordable housing and wildlife.

The decisions by the tribunal, however, found both developments met the parameters set out in a 1992 review of the Three Sisters area by the Natural Resources Conservation Board.

Antonio says the town's concerns are of sufficient importance to merit a further appeal.

"The town's proposed grounds of appeal are interrelated and pertain to the scope of the town's involvement and ability to apply its own processes in considering applications for projects within its boundaries," she wrote in the decision Tuesday.

"These issues are compounded by the evolution of the legal landscape surrounding project development in the 30 years since the NRCB approval."

A public hearing on the two developments last year took seven days and heard from more than 200 people concerned about possible effects on the busy town and wildlife in the area.