Learn how citizens fought to preserve Nose Hill, its history, how it unfolded. The Calgary Local Council of Women recommended that all development of Nose Hill be delayed, until after a major study by the Calgary Planning Commission of city growth. The only existing control was the absence of zoning approval for development and should be delayed, until such time as the City had sufficient funds. Calgary had never expended significant monies for parkland. In its natural state, the only cost for their proposal would be land acquisition, without any capital expenses, facilities, and maintenance.
They believed that Nose Hill is a beautiful natural area. We must preserve prime natural areas to offset urban sprawl and the concrete City Centre. Nose Hill is to Calgary what Citadel Hill is to Halifax; Battlefield’s Park to Quebec City; Mount Royal to Montreal; Stanley Park to Vancouver; and Beacon Hill Park to Victoria. Calgary would become the first city in Western Canada to have a natural area of prairie vegetation. Tourists will visit the natural grassland of Nose Hill or view it from the Calgary Tower.
The group proposed that approximately 3,500 acres, bounded on the West by the Sarcee Trail right-of-way, South by the John Laurie Boulevard, East by the existing development adjacent to the escarpments of Nose Hill, and North by the highlands and escarpments of Nose Hill to and beyond 80 Avenue NW, be zoned as Natural Parkland in perpetuity.
The Hill is a dominant geographical feature in Calgary since its southern slopes can be seen from most locations, providing a constant reminder to citizens of the prairie landscape surrounding them which has played such an influential role in our economic and cultural development.
