Eagle Lake road allowance closure heads to public hearing

By Melissa Crispin-Piche Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County residents will have an opportunity to weigh in on the proposed closure of an undeveloped road allowance west of Eagle Lake during a public hearing later this month.

The hearing is scheduled for Sept. 22 and relates to an application from a neighbouring landowner seeking to close approximately three acres of undeveloped road allowance between SE-25-23-25-W4M and NE-24-23-25-W4M.

Taylor Felt, Senior Planner with Wheatland County, said public participation is encouraged before council considers the proposal.

“Any public hearing held at the county office is open for public and (we) actually really do encourage public participation when it comes to public hearings,” Felt said.

The application was submitted by a landowner who intends to consolidate the road allowance with adjacent property. Felt said the proposal is also intended to address access to a county standard road.

“The landowner submitted an application, so they applied to close the approximate – I think it’s about three acres of undeveloped road allowance with the intention of consolidating that land with their properties,” Felt said. “And this is really to resolve an issue that that landowner has in accessing a county standard road.”

Road allowances are owned by the province while Wheatland County is responsible for their direction, control and management within its jurisdiction.

If the closure is ultimately approved, there would be a separate process dealing with disposal and purchase of the land.

“The closure really seeks to look at whether closing this road and disposing it eliminates access to adjacent landowners or if there’s any issues for utility providers who might have infrastructure crossing that portion of the road,” Felt said.

The county also considers matters such as drainage, utilities and other potential impacts when reviewing a road closure.

Applications are circulated to adjacent landowners and utility providers, giving them an opportunity to identify concerns or easements that may be required.

Felt said the county has not received comments indicating the undeveloped allowance is currently being used to access Eagle Lake or raising concerns about the loss of public access. “We haven’t received comments to that effect,” Felt said.

He added that public access can become an issue when undeveloped road allowances lead toward bodies of water; he noted that similar concerns have surfaced with road closures in other municipalities.

“With this application specifically, those types of concerns haven’t been raised yet,” Felt said. Those concerns could still be brought forward during the public hearing.

Residents may submit comments in writing ahead of the meeting which allows the information to be provided to council and published with the public hearing material. People may also attend the hearing and speak directly to council.

“The chair will open the public hearing, and folks can speak in favour or opposition to a particular issue or file at a public hearing,” Felt said.

A final decision will not necessarily be made Sept. 22.

Road closure bylaws then require provincial involvement because the province generally holds title to the right-of-way.

“After that, and unique to road closures, it then has to go to Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors for review and then the minister will give consideration to the bylaw,” Felt said.

If the province is satisfied with the proposed closure, the bylaw would return to Wheatland County council for consideration of second and third reading.

Felt said the purpose of the application is ultimately to allow the neighbouring landowner to consolidate the undeveloped portion and improve access to Range Road 250.

“The landowner on either side is really looking to consolidate that undeveloped portion so that they can then access Range Road 250 without crossing over someone else’s land,” Felt said.