CALGARY - It's taken more than two years and cost around $6 million, but the blueprint for Calgary's development-- which includes a call for higher-density communities built around transit -- is ready for full public scrutiny.

Wednesday's formal release of Plan It Calgary, a document of more than 200 pages meant to act as a template for building the city over the next six decades, is the culmination of years of city work, months of lobbying by the development industry and others and continuous input from city council.

It now heads to the Calgary Planning Commission on May 14, with a special public hearing scheduled for June 16, though some aldermen want the hearing pushed back to September. And while there's still six weeks --and possibly more--until council has its final say, those who have worked on the plan say it provides a strong vision for Calgary.

"The direction is a more intense city that works better in terms of transit and land use, is more environmentally sound . . . and is slightly less expensive to operate over the long term," said David Watson, the city's general manager of planning, development and assessment.

The proposed blueprint is not vastly different from its predecessors. One change in the final proposal is a statement that development will still occur at the city's edges, Watson said, a nod to the development industry's protests over what it said was too much focus on building up in established communities.

But overall, the call is still for a city with more varied housing, communities centred on recreation and other centres, and a wider range of mobility options that includes everything from walking to driving.

Watson said there will likely be more changes to come.

"I'm not sure the industry will like all of it, and people who supported us all the way probably think we're not going far enough," he said.

That was already evident Wednesday. Dennis Little, the industry's point man on Plan It, said he believes the city's targets for multi-family buildings and density are unachievable, saying single-family homes still need to have more prominence.

"They've indicated to me they haven't addressed our major concern," he said.

Noel Keough, founder of Sustainable Calgary, said he was hoping for a more compact city than the one envisioned in Plan It. "The proposal the city's making is not as ambitious" as it was before, he said.