By early 2026, businesses in Rocky View County (RVC) will need to apply for a business license to operate.
That is, of course, if RVC continues down the path it started on early this week as the County’s Governance Committee narrowly approved a motion that directed administration to prepare and present a business licensing feasibility study to the committee by the end of March 2025.
Economic development officials with the County told the committee that the potential launch of a full business licensing program would be implemented by early 2026. Officials said the business licensing would be mandatory for all businesses in the County, and that administration would implement an enforcement policy to ensure local businesses operate with the proper license.
According to RVC Economic Development manager Aaron Latimer, businesses do not need extra licenses beyond their permits to operate in the County, but nearly all municipalities located within RVC, like Airdrie, Chestermere, Cochrane, Beiseker, Irricana, and Crossfield, require their businesses to get licenses.
Latimer and the County’s Economic Development team compiled a report on the issue of business licensing and found that there is a need for business licensing to “address current gaps in managing and tracking relevant business information,” which County administration states is a “crucial element in supporting investment attraction, business retention and expansion, sector diversification, and economic development efforts.”
Administration argued that the key benefits of business licensing include centralized data management for better understanding of local business needs, enhanced customer service, improved emergency response capabilities, and data analysis to support economic growth and diversification and the desired mix of residential and nonresidential assessments.
“We believe the introduction of business licensing can play an important role in providing council with information on the County’s businesses,” Latimer said.
Some committee members were very receptive to the idea of introducing business licenses. Division 5 Coun. Greg Boehlke said the administration’s presentation was so good that it “converted” him into a supporter of the motion.
“When you look around at all our neighbours,” Boehlke said. “It’s an evolution, we’ve built a great business community in Rocky View and it’s growing everyday and this is just a means of keeping track [of businesses]. As long as it’s not a money grab…I think this is an evolution of growth that has come to the region.”
However, not all the committee members were as enthused by the idea. Committee chair and Deputy Reeve Don Kochan said he could not support the motion, stating that he didn’t believe the initiative would be worth it in the end. Reeve Crystal Kissel also said she couldn’t support it. Kissel said she was worried it was too complicated and that she was concerned that the business community in RVC had not previously shown a desire for the County to implement business licensing.
County administration argued that there would be numerous benefits to the County’s business community if business licensing was implemented. According to the County, licensing would improve customer service and reduce development confusion among businesses. It would also offer economic development support and provide visibility to businesses by classifying them in public directories, the Committee Report stated.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” said Division 4 Coun. Samanntha Wright. “This is a process that has been around for a long time…there is a big push to create business in RVC, this would help that and it’s a win all around.”
Wright and Boehlke were joined in their support of the motion by Division 1 and Division 6 councillors Kevin Hanson and Sunny Samra. Division 7 Coun. Al Schule joined Kissel and Kochan in opposing the motion, which passed by a count of 4-3.
The County will continue to explore the feasibility of business licenses and will most likely report back to council sometime in the first quarter of 2025.
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