County considers land use bylaw revision

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County council is looking to amend the county’s land use bylaw to change how applications for solar and wind developments are handled.

Under the current land use bylaw, a specific land use district (energy district) exists for wind and solar developments. If these developments are proposed in other land use districts, the applicant must first apply for the lands to be redesignated to this district; they then need to apply to the county for a development permit.

However, this arrangement is atypical from other places in Alberta, explained Graham Allison, Wheatland County planner. 

“A lot of other municipalities don’t require that land use (step), they only have that development permit process,” he said.

Problems with this process arose recently when county council considered approval for a proposed solar development – the East Strathmore Solar Project – in the county. At the time, the project had already received approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), the provincial regulator.

Despite opposition by landowners near the development, county council decided to support the land redesignation. This is because under Section 619 of the Municipal Government Act, AUC decisions prevail over municipal documents and decisions. If council had opposed the project, the proponents would have been able to successfully appeal council’s decision, and this would have resulted in legal costs.

Another complexity under the current rules is that when the county considers a land redesignation application, it holds a public hearing; but under provincial law, issues already decided on by the AUC may not be addressed. 

“That leads to confusion, as well as redundancy, as adjacent landowners are confused where their input should go,” said Allison.

In response to this situation, county council moved to propose changes to the land use bylaw to avoid such a bind in the future. In response, county administration recommended the “energy district” be removed from the land use bylaw altogether, a plan which was supported unanimously by council. Under this plan, the county’s agricultural and industrial land use districts will also be amended, to include wind and solar developments as discretionary uses.

This change would eliminate the requirement of redesignation for a wind or solar development, and would address the overlap between the AUC hearing process and the county’s hearing process. The amendments will be brought back to county council for a vote later. 

Once the change is made, Wheatland County council can still be involved in the approval process by settings regulations the AUC can consider, participating in the AUC hearing process, and addressing matters not considered by the AUC at the county’s development permit stage. The AUC contacts county administrations about projects in Wheatland County.