February 11, 2015

It has been a few months since our open house and we wanted to again thank everyone for their respectful feedback. We learned a great deal and have been working hard to reflect that in our plan.

One of the over arching messages we received was that this proposed change is overwhelming, in terms of the size of the land and the number of residences proposed.

We get that. This is a big parcel of land… 914.27 acres to be precise. The plan is to develop only half of that, with the other half remaining as open space with a build out spanning a few decades if not more. Still this is a significant proposed change, and it is only one part of a larger more complicated development puzzle.

We believe the scope of the project is difficult to imagine and appreciate that the consideration of Ribstone can not happen in isolation from other future development and the aspirations for growth and density in the Central District outlined in the MD’s Growth Management Strategy in order to preserve farmland elsewhere.

Our goal was to provide a high level of detail about our plan at our open house and subsequently through our website. We continue to believe this is important but want to ensure that this high level of detail and transparency does not confuse the process. We have not submitted an application of any kind. These initial plans were a way of putting our best foot forward and to gather feedback and pick up from where we left off in 2008. We will now, in a series of emails/web articles be sharing with you how our proposal has changed to reflect what we heard.

Our goal also is to service this site with piped water and wastewater infrastructure as the most sustainable method of servicing for this site and for the greater Davisburg /Dunbow Road area. In order to achieve this we require the density to make it economical to operate. We can’t waiver from having density here, but we can design it in a meaningful way.

We welcome your continued feedback as we move forward with the process and are of course open to suggestions and modifications. Our ultimate goal is to create a community that is respectful of both the land and our neighbours which also helps achieve the policy goals set out by the MD. We recognize that these may seem like two diametrically opposed goals but are confident that Ribstone’s design can accomplish both. There is something very balanced about the fact that Ribstone will offer 51% open space striking a beautiful balance between progress and preservation.

To the changes….

We knew without a doubt the first modifications would be in and around the existing communities of the Shannon’s Loop and Norris Coulee. As the included map illustrates, we have removed all development directly to the east of the The Shannon’s, and reduced the density to one acre parcels plus retained the large buffer originally proposed creating a very respectful and effective transitional buffer. This northern interface area between Ribstone and its neighbours will include 1-acre country residential lots on cul-de-sacs so the lots are pie shaped and large at the rear.

This is not the extent of our changes. There will be additional modifications communicated in the coming weeks prior to any applications being made. These changes do however respond to some of the greater design concerns we heard through our consultation process to date.

We look forward to moving forward with this process from which we believe will emerge a respectful, sustainable community, which will be part of a thriving Central District, a beautiful addition to a beautiful area and a place we will all be proud to be associated with.

December 11, 2014

by Don Patterson

A development proposed for the Foothills MD’s north end could see thousands of people come to call the Heritage Heights area home.

Plans for the proposed Ribstone Ranch unveiled at an open house on Nov. 27 call for a 2,600 home community on a 914-acre site just east of the Norris Coulee and Shannon Estates subdivision.

At build out, the number of homes proposed would exceed the current size of both black Diamond and Turner Valley, where there are just over 2,000 dwellings in both communities combined.

Adrian Munro, CEO of developer Highfield Investment Group, said Ribstone Ranch is a significant project that will be built in several phases over as long as 20 years.

“We built this on a 20 to 25 year project,” he said. “This is a large track of land, it’s 2.4 kilometers from the north boundary to the south boundary.”

Under the developer’s plans, 51 per cent of the development’s nearly six-quarter-sections of land will be left as open space.

To read more visit Okotoks Western Wheel

December 5, 2014

We appreciate those who took the time to complete the Ribstone Ranch feedback form. If you missed the December 5, 2014 deadline we still want to hear from you via email at info@ribstoneranch.ca.

Community concerns will be taken into consideration as we review our plans and move forward with our application. The purpose of the open house and feedback process was to identify major area of concerns such as traffic impact and desired amenities before finalizing our plans for submissions. As these plans are finalized we will be sharing changes with the community via this website.

(more…)

November 24, 2014

Earlier in November, Ribstone Ranch sent out a newsletter to our neighbours. To view the newsletter click here.

If you would like to stay informed as we proceed through the project please send your email address to info@ribstoneranch.ca. (more…)