Springbank residents have had many meetings to discuss a development near Calaway Park. (CBC)

Some people in Springbank say it's time to separate from Rocky View County.

Members of the community west of Calgary say the last straw for them was when the county council voted in favour of a retail and seniors development near Calaway Park.

Gloria Wilkinson with the Springbank Community Planning Association says the Rocky View Council often has a five to four vote split — even after the last election.

And Wikinson says she doesn't see any voting changes coming in the future.

“Right now, Springbank has no democracy because there is no vote — we're always outvoted.”

Wilkinson and others want to see if a neighbouring municipality with a similar mindset will take Springbank in.

“It means preserving the agricultural land so that we can produce the food we eat and look after the watersheds.”

However, Alberta Municipal Affairs says any annexation would have to be initiated by a municipal district, not the public.

Another route is a petition to have the municipal affairs minister do an inspection of how Rocky View County operates.

Springbank resident Sharon Anderson says they don't take this kind of move lightly.

“Obviously it's a huge, huge undertaking. It's all kinds of consideration and so we just have to look at it and there's a considerable group of people who are willing to have a look at it,” says Anderson.

Rocky View Reeve Rolly Ashdown says he hopes it won’t come to that. Ashdown says it doesn’t make economic sense to split the county.

“If your sole reason for doing it is because you believe something didn't go the way you think it should have, I would say let's investigate why it went that way,” says Ashdown.

“Let's have an open mind and let's check into it and let's work through it.”