From housing prices to the push for street performers, laws governing development and expansion are an inescapable and omnipresent part of life in Jasper. Looking at Land Use provides an in-depth exploration of how those laws impact the lives of the park鈥檚 citizens, business owners and government鈥攗ntangling the complexities of the issues and exploring what they mean for Jasper as it heads into the future.
As two of only a handful of municipalities that exist inside of Canada鈥檚 national parks, Banff and Jasper share a lot in common. Of course, as many Jasperites like to point out, there are some important differences between the two鈥攚hether it be the atmosphere, the size or the municipality鈥檚 jurisdiction.
Socrates Korogonas is a Jasper-born entrepreneur who runs businesses in both towns. He is well aware of the differences, and said, from his perspective, he likes that it seems much easier to get things done in Banff.
He said presenting a development proposal in Banff is always refreshing because it is usually well-received and people are excited about it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to explain yourself to someone who鈥檚 excited about what you鈥檙e doing,鈥� he said of pitching ideas in Banff. In Jasper, however, things are 鈥渨ildly different.鈥�
Here he has often been met with resistance, and it usually takes a lot of stress and work to get something approved. He said he believes Jasperites are so 鈥渋ntimidated鈥� by development that they often refuse to consider it.
And while the argument that Banff is more open to development than Jasper is a fair one, what Korogonas sees as intimidating is actually the result of how land use planning and development regulations have been administered differently in the parks.
Cathy Jenkins is Parks Canada鈥檚 realty and municipal manager in Jasper. Her job is based in town, but she recently spent three weeks working in Banff.
In an interview March 20 she pointed out that there is actually very little difference in the development regulations governing both towns.
Banff鈥檚 commercial growth is restricted to a very specific area, its residents must work in town in order to live there and the physical space it can occupy is limited. The need to reside laws, commercial cap and other regulations sound familiar to Jasperites, because they are enshrined in the Canada National Parks Act, and are the exact same laws that govern our town.
鈥淭he Canada National Parks Act is the pinnacle, and we鈥檙e both governed by it,鈥� Jenkins said.
So while Banff operates under many of the same regulations, and faces many of the same challenges as Jasper (not enough housing, limited parking), there is one significant difference. In Banff, the municipality has much more control over its land use planning and development.
Banff municipal council draws up its own land use bylaws, and submits them to Parks Canada for approval. Parks still has the power to veto laws, but it has very little to do with drawing up the changes.
Jenkins pointed out that here in Jasper, municipal council has no power to change bylaws related to land use, and Parks takes care of all the 鈥渙perational鈥� aspects of land use.
She explained that the power structure in the two arrangements is essentially the same, with Parks ultimately having the final say, but in Banff it results in Parks taking a much more hands-off approach.
So Banff鈥檚 municipal council is used to less micromanaging from Parks. The municipality was incorporated in 1990, and it wasn鈥檛 until 1998 that the commercial cap and other development regulations were enshrined in the Canada National Parks Act.
Leslie Taylor was Banff鈥檚 first mayor, and said during that eight-year period the town essentially made its own decisions regarding land use planning and development. It even independently created it鈥檚 own 鈥渧ery comprehensive, award-winning land use bylaw鈥� (that Parks signed off on).
Taylor said she can鈥檛 remember a single time during her term as mayor that Parks used its veto power to overrule development projects the town proposed.
The history of the Banff municipal council having agency over land use continues today with Parks鈥� more hands-off approach.
But since Jasper was incorporated after development regulations were enshrined in the Canada National Parks Act, its municipality has never been afforded that luxury.
And in these two small but important facts lies the root of the difference in attitude Korogonas and others have noticed in the two towns.
It makes sense that Jasper is generally more resistant to development projects, because the municipality 鈥済rew up鈥� in an environment more informed by the stricter rules in the Canada National Parks Act, operating with much more involvement from Parks Canada.
But, as Peter Waterworth and Parks Canada representatives have agreed, it makes more sense for a municipality to be in charge of land use than Parks Canada, because the municipality is better equipped to administer it.
Although this is likely true, it also makes sense that it鈥檚 generally more difficult to get development projects approved in Jasper than Banff because of what each community offers.
Banff is on a major highway only an hour and a half from an international airport, and sees more than double the number of tourists pass through its gates than Jasper does each year. It鈥檚 a bigger and more accessible town, and in that way it makes sense that it would be more open to development.
鈥淲e are here as a service centre; tourism is our economy. We consider ourselves a world class tourist destination and you need to make sure you have certain services in place in that realm,鈥� explained Banff鈥檚 current mayor, Karen Sorensen.
Jenkins pointed out that Jasper is five hours from an international airport, and that 鈥測ou have to make an effort to get to Jasper.鈥�
鈥淧eople like the uniqueness, they like the fact that we鈥檙e a small little town with our unique little mom and pop shops,鈥� she said. It makes sense that there would be less development, and more resistance to it.
A big part of Jasper鈥檚 draw is its image as a quaint mountain town more connected to nature. Town administrators are aware of that image and work hard to preserve it.
So while it is harder to develop in Jasper, there are reasons for that, both practical and historical.
Parks Canada is gearing up for a significant review of land use planning and development in Jasper, and the results could have significant impacts on the community. In the next installment of Looking at Land Use, the 51暗网 explores how land use planning and development regulations鈥攁s well as Jasperites鈥� attitudes towards them鈥攚ill shape the town moving forward.
Trevor Nichols
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