Heliport Lease Renewal
Consultation has concluded and the lease has been renewed through to 2031.
On July 6, 2021, Council approved a 10-year lease (effective Dec. 1, 2021) with Alpine Helicopters with a further reduction of the maximum number of sightseeing flights from 60/day in the current lease to 35/day (42% reduction). The minimum sightseeing flight duration was reduced to 25 minutes, and a reduced rent was negotiated to reflect the increased restrictions applied to the heliport operations. A copy of the full lease details can be found at www.canmore.ca/heliport
Council directed administration to report at the Sept. 7, 2021 meeting with a project description and budget to work with Alpine Helicopters to review possible locations in or near the municipality to locate a staging helipad for operating sightseeing flights or relocate the heliport.
A recording of the May 4, 2021 Town Hall is posted at www.canmore.ca/heliport.
On April 20, 2021 the draft recommendations on lease renewal were presented to Council, along with the What We Heard Report (summary of stakeholder groups' feedback). You can read the reports by clicking on the Important Links on the right hand side of the screen. The full report and recommendations can be found in Council's agenda package.
Role of Heliport Monitoring Committee: Each year, the Town of Canmore’s Heliport Monitoring Committee (HMC) reviews Alpine Helicopter’s operation report to ensure they are operating in accordance with Schedule D of their lease. The committee also reviews any heliport complaints. The HMC's role in the heliport lease renewal process was to hear from the stakeholder groups and report to Council. Administration has a non-voting position on the HMC, and reported the stakeholder groups’ feedback to Council on behalf of the HMC. The consolidation of the stakeholder groups' feedback into the “What We Heard” report was done by the Communications department. HMC did not provide recommendations on the lease renewal.
Background: The heliport was constructed by the Province of Alberta in the mid-1980s. The land is now owned by the Town of Canmore and is leased to Alpine Helicopters. Examples of services provided at the heliport include: landing and fueling services for any helicopter company in the Bow Valley, sightseeing flights, heli-hiking, filming, forest fire suppression, mountain rescue, avalanche control, TransAlta power line inspection, and back country lodge support. The current lease allows a maximum of 60 flights per day to be flown for sightseeing purposes.
Consultation has concluded and the lease has been renewed through to 2031.
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