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Thanks to the communities’ continued devotion to flying local from the Canadian Rockies International Airport (YXC), an increase in air service is set to start January 2, 2024, thanks to Air Canada.

Because demand numbers have demonstrated the need for more air service, Air Canada has responded, adding a second daily Vancouver flight using a 76-seat Q400 aircraft doubling Air Canada’s existing YXC capacity with the first flight starting on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.  The flight will depart YVR at 8:30am, arriving to YXC at 11:50am, and departing at 12:30pm.

“This flight is timed perfectly for the best connections possible into Air Canada’s global network at YVR,” says Tristen Chernove, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Rockies International Airport. “I want to thank Air Canada for providing this additional service to our airport and believe this will be a welcome additional flight option for our residents and inbound guests.”

WestJet’s existing daily schedule of three flights to Calgary and two to Vancouver will remain unchanged through the winter months.

Meantime, YXC is also happy to announce the imminent arrival of a new restaurant to the terminal building. Delightful will be opening a satellite location at the airport, targeting a soft opening date early in the New Year.

Cranbrook, BC (September 11, 2023) – A grant application by the City of Cranbrook to the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) through the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), if successful could amount to potentially millions of dollars to help with initiatives to contribute to the development of affordable housing.

On Monday night, staff updated Council on the grant application and the impact this funding could have on helping the City meet its new housing needs targets.

The HAF is designed to provide incentive funding (contributions) to local governments to encourage local initiatives that remove barriers to housing supply, accelerate the growth of supply and support the development of complete, low-carbon and climate-resilient communities which are affordable, inclusive, equitable and diverse.

“The grant opportunity is timely as the City is in the process of updating its housing needs assessment which shows that like many communities, we are significantly lacking in affordable housing options for our residents,” says Rob Veg, Manager of Planning for the City. “The updated assessments finding indicates new housing targets in the amount of approximately 1,400 units to meet the City’s housing needs in the next ten years with approximately 900 units being more affordable options based on household incomes and demographics.”

The HAF grant application for large communities requires that applicants prepare an Action Plan with a minimum of seven separate initiatives which outline supply growth targets and the proposed initiatives the municipality will undertake to grow housing supply and speed up housing approvals. Staff presented to Council an action plan for the City that would look to facilitate housing growth, promote “gentle density” and infill, further incentivize the creation and legalization of secondary suites, create opportunities for accessory dwelling units, improve infrastructure and increase the potential for speedier development approvals for affordable housing.

In all, the City has submitted an action plan with seven initiatives that would be required to be completed during the HAF program in order to receive the full funding amount if successful.

“If successful with the application, the funding received would be used to develop a target of approximately 268 dwelling units of those 106 as “affordable rental housing”, established in the City’s application,” Veg says. “While not completely solving the City’s housing needs, it would be a big step towards our new housing needs target.”

Project Background
The community has identified a desire to improve and further develop the Active Transportation (AT) network within Cranbrook. The City is undertaking an Active Transportation Plan (ATP) to guide the implementation of the AT infrastructure. The plan will identify gaps, provide a clear vision, goals, objectives, and recommendation for the AT network, infrastructure, and policies to promote active transportation. All citizens of and visitors to Cranbrook will benefit, as any work will aim to enhance the experience for current AT users and encourage more people to utilize AT. The work will aim to accommodate all ages, abilities and improve accessibility for diverse user groups including seniors, underprivileged individuals, and youth.

The Plan will identify actions for improving active transportation facilities, so it is easier and safer for people to walk, cycle, and roll.
 
The City has retained ISL Engineering to help create the Active Transportation Plan. ISL and the City will create the Plan based on public feedback, technical guidance, and City policies and standards. 

What is active transportation?
When you use your own power to get from one place to another, you are travelling by ‘active transportation’. Active transportation includes walking, cycling, and rolling (e.g., wheelchairs, skateboards, scooters, strollers, rollerblades, etc.).

What is an active transportation network?
An active transportation network includes infrastructure (e.g., physical structures and the built environment) that support walking, cycling, and rolling. Sidewalks, multi-use pathways, stairs, and in some circumstances, traffic calmed roads are examples of active transportation infrastructure. The purpose of an active transportation network is to support people moving through their community. We want to provide convenient and safe routes between neighbourhoods and community destinations. 

How can the Active Transportation Plan help our community?
We want to make it safe and convenient for people to travel actively throughout the City. Active transportation has many community benefits, such as:  

• Health: Active transportation improves physical and mental well-being of the community 
• Affordability: Active transportation offers more affordable travel options 
• Reduced emissions: Active transportation provides people with the option to use their vehicles less, reducing environmental pollution and improves air quality

How can I participate in this project?
There will be pop-up events and an online survey to gather your feedback. 

The online survey can be accessed here.

Hard copies of the survey will be delivered to the Cranbrook Food Bank, Community Connections Office and delivered to seniors housing. Additional hard copies of the survey are available from the front desks at Cranbrook City Hall, the Cranbrook Public Library, Engineering & Development Services, and the pool desk at Western Financial Place. 

Upcoming Engagement Opportunities: 

• Saturday, July 15, 2023
  Cranbrook Farmer’s Market (2-3hrs) @ Rotary Park 
  10:00am – 1:00pm
   
• Tuesday, July 18, 2023
  Downtown Cranbrook – Clocktower Square
  11:00am – 2:00pm

Questions or comments about the project can be directed to: 
Santana Patten, Community Planner or Curtis Mummery, Manager, Roads and Infrastructure @ [email protected].

Cranbrook, BC (May 16, 2023) — The City of Cranbrook is thrilled to announce that it has partnered with BC Hydro to attract energy-intensive, industrial customers to the province. By working with BC Hydro, available industrial and aerospace properties will be promoted to businesses looking to establish sustainable operations in British Columbia.

“The City of Cranbrook is proud to work alongside BC Hydro to match new businesses to an aerospace or industrial site,” said Darren Brewer, Economic Development Officer at the City of Cranbrook. “We are providing exceptional investment opportunities and are dedicated to supporting emerging and government-supported industries including those in the aerospace, hydrogen and low carbon fuel production, clean technology, energy storage, advanced battery technology, and information and communications technology sectors.”

The B.C. government is committed to fostering innovation in the region. Close collaboration between the government and municipalities along with leading climate policies, critical infrastructure, and top talent all help companies to get established and grow. In addition, streamlined regulations make it easier to register a business and apply for permits and licenses.

“Cranbrook is an excellent location for companies looking to establish clean and sustainable operations in B.C.,” said Mike Matejka, Director and Engineering and Development Services at the City of Cranbrook. “We invite businesses to take advantage of this opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint and operational costs while building a low carbon business.”

With its focus on growing technology and innovation within the region, Cranbrook is the hub of the Kootenays and offers countless opportunities to invest in or expand operations within emerging and government-supported industries. By investing in B.C., companies can connect to a resilient and integrated grid, which helps to minimize operational downtime while powering with renewable energy.

BC Hydro is an integrated electric utility that offers favourable and competitive industrial rates. Together with specialized funding and incentives, B.C. is among the lowest cost jurisdictions in North America. With over 98% of the power generated from clean and renewable hydroelectricity, companies that invest in B.C. can achieve their ESG targets while enjoying the benefits of a stable economy and a welcoming government.

For more information on investment opportunities in Cranbrook, visit the City of Cranbrook website or contact the Economic Development office. www.choosecranbrook.ca

To learn more about BC Hydro’s discounted industrial rates, funding available to help your business electrify, or to search for available industrial sites, visit choose.bchydro.com

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For more information, please contact:

Darren Brewer, Economic Development Officer                
City of Cranbrook                                                                         
Phone: 250-919-9792                                                                    

[email protected]                                                   

Cranbrook, BC (April 25, 2023) – Two key projects in the City’s 2023 capital works program – 4th Street North Phase 2 reconstruction and Shadow Mountain Sanitary Sewer Servicing get underway over the next couple of weeks.

The 4th Street North Phase 2 reconstruction continues the work started on 4th Street North in 2022 and will focus from 17th Avenue North to Kootenay Street. This construction phase will replace all the aging infrastructure like water mains and services, sanitary sewer mains and services, and new storm sewer infrastructure. New curb, gutter, sidewalk, streetlights, and pavement will also be installed. Mackay Contracting will be completing this project and will be mobilizing its equipment this week. We expect this project to wrap up around the end of August 2023.

The Shadow Mountain Sanitary Servicing project is the other significant project in 2023. Copan Civil LP has been awarded the contract and intends to mobilize on May 1, 2023. This major infrastructure project will connect the Shadow Mountain community to the City’s wastewater collection system, with nearly 3 km of sanitary sewer main and three sewage lift stations and control structures. This project is expected to be completed in late October or early November 2023.

The City of Cranbrook gratefully acknowledges the financial contributions of the Canada Community Building Fund (former Gas Tax Fund) toward these important infrastructure projects.

As construction begins on these two significant projects, those travelling near or around these construction sites must follow all signage and any direction provided by contract staff and traffic control personnel. Residents who live in and around these sites, where construction will impact access to your property, our contractors will reach out to you directly to notify you in advance of any disruptions and how long these disruptions may last. Garbage and recycling pick-up will remain on its regular schedule in these areas.

We will provide regular updates on these projects and others as they come online over the summer months.

Cranbrook, BC (April 4th , 2023) – With spring in the air, many of us are ready to leave the last of winter behind us and savour the sunshine, while sipping on cool drinks and dining on delicious fare with friends on outdoor patios.

The City has released a brand-new Patio Guide, a how-to manual for business owners who want to bring their restaurant or café outdoors. From finding the necessary permits to designing that perfect patio space, the guide has all the information you need to create an inviting, outdoor oasis that your customers will love.

By helping businesses create outdoor dining spaces, we’re also contributing to the revitalization of our downtown and attracting more visitors. With so many great patios to choose from, locals and tourists alike will have no shortage of options for enjoying the warm weather.

“Summer is a time to relax and enjoy the great outdoors, and we’re thrilled to be able to help businesses create amazing patio spaces that will enhance our city’s vibe,” says Darren Brewer, Economic Development Officer for the City of Cranbrook. “We hope that our Patio Guide will inspire more businesses to take advantage of our beautiful weather and create unique and inviting outdoor dining experiences.”

“We’re excited to see how our city will be transformed by the addition of new outdoor dining spaces,” says Mike Matejka, Director of Engineering and Development Services. “And we can’t wait to see the amazing patios that our local businesses will create with the help of our guide.”

 

Download the guide https://data.choosecranbrook.ca/resources

The City of Cranbrook has made tremendous strides in creating a fertile environment for entrepreneurs

Cranbrook has evolved to become a thriving Kootenay hub—and that didn’t happen by accident. The city’s prosperity is a direct result of the teamwork achieved by the mayor, council and administration.

The city council members approached their roles with an “open for business” mindset, building Cranbrook into a progressive, growing community.

• Bringing new businesses to the forefront. More entrepreneurs are opting to run their companies in Cranbrook. Business license registration in our city has gone from 844 licenses in 2014 up to 1,884 in 2021—a staggering 123% increase, helping to foster growth and boost our economy.
• Getting developments underway. Building permits over the past five years have increased by 105 per cent compared to the previous five-year period ($136 million from 2012-2016 versus $279 million from 2017-2021). This is a fantastic indicator that Cranbrook is getting bigger and better, with a bright future ahead.  
• Investing in a vibrant community. Considerable funds have been invested to make the city more attractive. By implementing a road tax, industrial land development and downtown revitalization, we manage to bring out the best of what Cranbrook has to offer.
• Finding real solutions to the housing crisis. Housing availability and cost present a considerable challenge in B.C. and beyond. To address this housing crisis, the Cranbrook mayor and council called special meetings to expedite the necessary development projects and get more housing built in a timely manner. Examples of these worthwhile projects include Legacy Summit and Broadstreet Properties. 
• Streamlining the municipal approval process. The planning and engineering staff have worked together cohesively to enable fast, efficient municipal approval. Streamlining this process has allowed more progress to be made in local developments and other areas.
• Supporting key initiatives. Cranbrook was the pilot location for the Buy Basin and Shop Local campaigns—effectively boosting business all across the region. The City of Cranbrook worked together in partnership with Columbia Basin Trust to back these integral projects.
• Rebranding for success. Choose Cranbrook (a new brand sharing narrative of the city) received the prestigious Best of the Best Award for Marketing at the 2021 Marketing Canada Awards, presented by the Economic Development Association of Canada. The rebranding initiative highlights all the best things about Cranbrook and contributes significantly to the growth and prosperity of the city.
• Attracting industrial development. In 2018, the Tembec Lands Project purchased 99 acres of brownfield with plans to develop the land. The acquisition of approximately 100 acres of industrial zoned land encourages further investment and creates new jobs. The city’s industrial project with the Tembec land was sold in November 2020 to Peak Industries, creating 40 jobs at the finger joint plant. The prosperity has started.
• Making substantial airport upgrades. In the past decade, more than $20 million in capital has been invested into the expansion, rehabilitation and other improvements to the Canadian Rockies International Airport. The upgrades enabled Cranbrook to become a major transportation hub for those working or living in the Kootenays.
• Keeping the community informed. The City of Cranbrook has launched a data portal to keep community members and stakeholders aware of the latest developments. Now anyone can find basic information and statistics about the city, such as how many people moved here in the past year. This has been useful not only to the general public, but also to business owners, developers and potential investors. Check out the data portal online now.
• Breathing new life into the downtown core. Downtown revitalization started in 2014 when the City listed the old fire hall for sale. This made room for the Fire Hall Kitchen & Tap, a bustling local pub. Since then, there have been numerous other investments made to beautify and rejuvenate the community’s core. The city is currently undertaking a Downtown Revitalization Master Plan that will lead to improvements in parking, redevelopment opportunities and more.
• Tackling unforeseen challenges. The city represented the Economic Resilience Task Force (ERTF), a collaborative initiative designed to help businesses recover from the challenges of COVID-19. This difficult time required the most prompt, professional response—and we were ready to meet the challenges head-on.
• Creating a Tourism Master Plan. Tourism strengthens the economy, having a positive impact on trade, investment, international education and a number of other key areas. Tourism businesses often employ local workers and also source their materials locally, creating more jobs and opportunities within the community. We have decided to focus on this sector with the introduction of our Tourism Master Plan. 

Given the accomplishments and growth of this forward-thinking community, it’s no wonder that so many business owners are coming to the area. There has never been a better time to choose Cranbrook.

Significant changes are on the horizon for municipalities in British Columbia when it comes to housing construction and the City of Cranbrook is well positioned to meet the needs these changes may bring.

On November 21, 2022, Premier David Eby announced the creation of the proposed Housing Supply Act, designed to prioritize housing construction in municipalities through better collaboration between the province and local governments. These reforms, according to the Province of BC are meant to increase housing supply and control demand for housing.  If passed, the Housing Supply Act is scheduled to be brought into force in mid-2023.

With these proposed changes, the onus is being pushed back onto municipalities like Cranbrook to find ways to speed up the turnaround on various approvals like rezoning, development permits and building permits with the intent to help streamline the ability of developers to build.

Several municipalities in the Okanagan – Penticton, Kamloops and Kelowna were recently recognized as leading the way on shorter wait times for development approvals than other parts of BC in a report released ahead of the October 15, 2022 municipal elections.  The report, commissioned by the Canadian Home Builders Association of British Columbia credited those communities with fast approval average wait times of 13 to 14 months from time of receipt of completed application to when planning approval was granted. You can read the article here – https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/388976/Development-approvals-faster-in-Penticton-Kamloops-Kelowna-than-in-other-parts-of-BC.

An internal review of development approvals undertaken by the City of Cranbrook in November 2021, which included research into 15 other municipalities in BC – including both Penticton and Kelowna – identified Cranbrook is able to complete the turnaround on development permits in a much faster two months, on average.  The findings are highlighted in the report – Community Development: Comparative Review and Analysis.

The report found that the City’s Engineering and Development Service department has the fastest turnaround time from a completed application submission to the issuance of development approvals in all areas: development permits (DP); development variance permits (DVP), zoning bylaw amendments and Official Community Plan (OCP) amendments, than any of the other surveyed communities. 

This despite that at the time of the research being conducted for the internal review, the Engineering and Development Service department had the lowest number of department staff compared to all surveyed communities.  Since that time, three staff have been added to the department including two Community Planners and an additional Building Inspector/Planning Technician.

The internal report also identified that the City of Cranbrook has lower fees, charges, development cost charges (DCC’s) and community amenity contributions (CAC’s) than most of the 15 communities selected for data analysis.

“City staff do an amazing job working proactively with the development community and providing great customer services to get their projects online quickly, and these statistics back that up,” says Mike Matejka, Director of Engineering and Development Services, with the City of Cranbrook. “With the additional investments in new staff, permitting software, and updates to the OCP and Zoning Bylaw, the City is well positioned to work with all stakeholders to address housing needs.”

“Council is considering changes to the Official Community Plan and Zoning Bylaw that will allow increased diversification of housing types and sizes in Cranbrook,” says Mayor Wayne Price. “This would allow for smaller parcels with a greater amount of lot coverage, increased height and expanded dwelling capacity for R-1 and R-2 zoning types.”

A measure of growth in any community is the creation of new housing units.  In 2020, the City of Cranbrook saw an increase of 18.3 housing units per 1000 people – which was identified as the highest rate of any community surveyed in the City’s internal report.

Several significant building projects undertaken over the past couple of years has created an increase in the number of doors in Cranbrook, most predominately being the Broadstreet Development on Innis Avenue providing nearly 300 new housing units. West Urban has two, multi-story apartment buildings in the queue for the city bringing approximately 146 additional new rental units online. Several other development projects are in line awaiting various approvals from both the Province and City Council.

“Since 2018, we have seen over 897 dwelling units built in Cranbrook, quite remarkable when you consider our size,” says Darren Brewer, Business Development Office with the City of Cranbrook. “We have refreshed almost ten percent of our housing stock in those five years. We have invested in ourselves and the results show it. “

As the City continues to grow and attract businesses and homebuyers, it is leading to an increase in the construction value, complexity, and volume of applications for permits and licenses. The City has recognized the need to support operations and continue to provide a high level of service to the community. One of the highest priorities identified was to shift to an online, digital system for land-based administration and application processes. 

City staff will have one, well-designed, online system that will streamline and automate the administration of permitting and licensing processes. Applications will be received and processed digitally. Developers, builders, businesses, and the public will have the ability to apply for permits and licenses online and complete the entire process digitally. Applicants will be able to view the stages of their permits and be automatically notified throughout the process.