The proposed architectural guidelines for High River's 12th Avenue Corridor have raised some concerns about the energy efficiency of new developments. At last week's public hearing, resident Emile Rocher spoke about efficiency issues that the new bylaw could present.

Mayor Craig Snodgrass says it's important to balance those concerns with the benefits of the corridor's looks.

"I think you need a guy like Emile around to keep you focused on some of that environmental stuff. Emile always makes very, very valid points and concerns with everything that he talks about. The tough part is balancing between efficiency and aesthetics for our community."

He says rather than making changes to the bylaw he'd like to see the town give developers incentives for energy efficiency.

"I think that's something that we do at a much higher level with encouraging developers to implement some of these things. We still want to do it and it's a lot different when you're developing a building and paying attention to your building costs."

Snodgrass says he'd like to see the town help developers to be efficient.

"If we as a town have some incentives to some of these developers to get to a more energy efficient means in some areas, whether it be use of solar panels and those kinds of things. If developers want to go there lets help them get that done, because if you look at the 15 year thing before you see any return on it then they just won't do it."

He says it's difficult to balance energy efficiency with how the corridor will look.

For example, having 60% glass facing 12th Ave is much better than tin walls aesthetically although it may present some heating and cooling issues.