A Canadian Pacific AC4400CW passes the Banff railway station - 2008 James Emery.

12 September 2013

Parks to Review Train Station Changes

Banff Alberta - Proposed new commercial uses for the Banff train station lands, including hotel rooms and retail services, as part of a redevelopment plan to revitalize the area, have raised alarm bells for Parks Canada.
 
Banff council agreed to delay a public hearing last Monday (9 Sep 2013) to give Parks Canada more time to review the implications of proposed new land uses, aimed at giving Banff Caribou Properties more flexibility in their development plans for the lands they have leased from Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).
 
Parks Canada's main concerns centre on the fact that some of the proposed discretionary uses in the Land Use Bylaw (LUB) fall outside of previous federal approvals, including a federal Order In Council approved last April.
 
Further, they want legal clarification on whether new uses could trigger the reversionary clause, which gives the federal government the right to take back or sell railway lands when they are no longer used for railway purposes.
 
It appears Parks Canada is not interested in getting back the lands, which have seen industrial use through the years, though they would not come out and say that.
 
"We want to make sure that what's proposed there works for all parties so we avoid any problems in the future," said Dave McDonough, superintendent of Banff National Park.
 
"We support the redevelopment at a conceptual level but our next step is to sit down with the proponent and Town of Banff and have more detailed discussions."
 
The railway lands land use district is one of the Town of Banff's six commercial land use districts, covering 7.3 hectares around Canadian Pacific Railway's train line.
 
In 2011, Banff Caribou Properties entered into a sub-lease agreement with CP for an approximately 1.23-ha portion of the district, which encompasses both the railway station building and parking area.
 
Caribou has a permit to rehabilitate the historic train station building, which is a federally recognized heritage building, but the lodging company also wants to be able to offer additional commercial services to make the venture viable.
 
Gordon Lozeman, president and CEO of Banff Caribou Properties, said the company is disappointed with the delay, but respects the process.
 
"Parks obviously has some concerns that we need to work through with them. I don't think that there's anything that can't be sorted out," he said.
 
"I think everyone recognizes that we're trying to do a good thing here, so I'm confident that we'll find a way to get through this last hurdle."
 
Lozeman said Caribou Properties has a federal Order in Council (OIC) and municipal development permit to proceed with the restoration of the century-old station building itself, noting they will get started on that this fall.
 
"Hopefully the bylaw amendment won't be far behind so that we can figure out a viable tenant base and keep the project moving forward," said Lozeman.
 
Parks Canada supports the redevelopment of the railway lands in principle, along with the vision of revitalizing the area into a gateway for the community and celebrating the site's railway heritage.
 
But, McDonough said more time is needed to do a thorough legal review to determine which land grants apply to this site, the terms and conditions of the grants, and the statutes that authorize them.
 
McDonough said any changes in land use could trigger contractual or statutory reversionary interests, with the lands reverting back to the federal crown.
 
He said CPR needs to be involved in any amendments to the LUB to help ensure the reversionary clause is not triggered should any of the proposed uses contradict the original purpose of the lands.
 
"We want to make sure we know exactly what's proposed and that Canadian Pacific Railway is comfortable with what's being proposed," said McDonough.
 
Once the review is complete, including legal review, to make sure the bylaw amendments meet the terms of the OIC and the land grants, an additional OIC may be required for any uses not in the original OIC, approved last April.
 
McDonough said Parks Canada wants Canadian Pacific's legal counsel to provide their position on the amendments, with an underlying legal analysis on whether the proposed changes will trigger the reversionary clause.
 
"This position will be subject to Department of Justice legal review and approval," he said in a letter sent to the Town of Banff in asking for the delay in the public hearing.
 
The list of proposed discretionary uses in the amendment to the LUB includes passenger terminal, professional, financial, health, and office services, as well as a vehicle rental service.
 
Amusement establishment, eating and drinking establishment, equipment rentals, a hotel on second floor of station, natural science exhibit, personal service shop, private education services, retail, and spectator entertainment, are also proposed discretionary uses.
 
Town of Banff officials say Banff's historic station, and Canadian train station sites in general, have historically contained a number of uses intended to cater to visitors, including intermodal transportation hubs, convenience retail, government services, personal services, etc.
 
Darren Enns, the Town's senior planner, said he believes restoring many of these uses to the station building area, and adding new ones, would be consistent with both historic practice within the facility and with the expectation of services available to the public in a visitor gateway setting.
 
In addition, he said, containing many of the new uses within an existing structure may arguably have a lesser chance of creating conflict with adjacent uses, as opposed to new, freestanding uses or structures.
 
"We think of this area as a visitor arrival terminal, much like the ferries in B.C.," said Enns. "You often find a mix of uses centred around the visitor, such as buying a sandwich or buying a magazine."
 
In 2003, the council of the day approved a terms of reference for an area redevelopment plan at the request of CPR. At the time, there were plans for 150 new housing units there.
 
But work on the ARP ceased in 2004 when issues arose between Parks Canada and CPR over the so-called reversionary clause in the Canada National Parks Act.
 
Cathy Ellis.

Vancouver Island
British Columbia
Canada