Wheatland and Kneehill counties draft intermunicipal development plan

By Laureen F. Guenther Times Contributor

Due to changes to Alberta’s Municipal Government Act, Wheatland County is in the process of creating intermunicipal development plans (IDPs) with neighbouring counties. The amended Act was introduced April 1, 2018 and requires all neighbouring municipalities in Alberta to have completed IDPs in place by April 1, 2020.
The purpose of an IDP, says Wheatland County’s website, is “to minimize land use and development conflicts, provide opportunities for collaboration and communication, and allow for the resolution of any conflicts that may arise.”
With Kneehill County bordering Wheatland County on the east, just east of Rosebud, a draft of the IDP has been created and may be viewed on each county’s website.
Formal policies for communication and conflict resolution are a key aspect of the IDP, said a joint email prepared by the planning departments of both counties.
“The IDP will improve intermunicipal communications, for developments in particular,” stated the email.
“The IDP states that both municipalities agree to provide the other municipality the required landowner information for the circulation area. The circulation area is determined by the municipality performing the circulation’s policies. For Wheatland, the circulation distance is landowners with one mile of the subject parcel when outside of a hamlet, though if the application is more significant in impact or anticipated to be more controversial, the notifications may be sent to a larger radius.”
The two counties held an open house in Carbon on March 27 to provide information and answer questions about the draft IDP. Ratepayers are also invited to discuss the IDP with their county councillors and their county’s planning department.
At the open house, members of the public asked how the IDP can help landowners, requested the IDP include additional environmental policies and asked for clarification of those already in the draft. People also expressed concerns about the Badlands Motorsports Resort area structure plan (ASP), regarding the motorsports complex proposed for the Rosebud River Valley. Ratepayers raised concerns about environmental protections but pointed out that Section 3.8 of the draft IDP addresses that issue, specifically in regard to minimizing possible impacts on the Rosebud River.
The Rosebud River defines part of the border between the two counties, and the IDP has recognized that the river valley area in both counties is environmentally significant.
Wendy Clark, a representative of the Save the Rosebud (STR) planning committee, which is working to prevent the development of the Badlands Motorsports Resort (BMR), said STR representatives met with Wheatland County planning staff and the environmental coordinator, and also attended the meeting in Carbon.
“In the past, often these public input sessions have simply been a checkmark on the planning list. We are hopeful both counties are open to taking our suggestions seriously and thinking ‘outside the box’ (and) we are hopeful for another (consultation) meeting in Rosebud,” said Clark, who added the Badlands Motorsports Resort would be an “intrusive and inappropriate development.”
An effective IDP would “fundamentally protect against a county approving land use to the detriment of the residents or taxpayers in the other county. I believe both Wheatland and Kneehill property owners in the IDP area should be concerned. You cannot pollute only half a river, nor can you achieve protection of only half the valley. The whole Rosebud River Valley is environmentally significant. The IDP draft does not yet recognize this in both counties.”
According to both Wheatland and Kneehill counties’ planning departments, since the BMR ASP was approved prior to the creation of the IDP, it is “grandfathered.” That is, the ASP must comply only with the policies that were in place when it was approved. Only if the ASP were to be amended would it need to be brought into line with the policies of the new IDP.
“We are grateful for the opportunities we’ve had to speak to Wheatland council and administration, and for their support in our efforts to protect the Rosebud River Valley,” said Clark. “Our work now is to break through with some language in this IDP that will leave the valley at rest and be an example to other counties with river valleys on their borders.”