County seeks to make land redesignation and energy project application process easier
By John Watson Local Journalism initiative Reporter
Wheatland County Council, during the Oct. 5 regular council meeting, passed third reading of Bylaw 2021-17 which amends the Land Use Bylaw 2016-01.
The purpose of the amendment was to remove the Energy District, update definitions, general regulations, Application for Development and Subdivision Regulations, Specific Use Regulations and multiple land use districts.
At the April 20 council meeting, county staff were directed to undertake the process of removing the Energy District from Land Use Bylaw 2016-01, which was later considered at a public hearing on Sept 7.
At that time, the discussion was tabled and two requests were made before proceeding.
These requests included reconsideration of the setback requirements in order to better align with the existing setback requirements in the Agriculture General District and additional information and rationale regarding why particular setbacks were proposed.
According to County administration, the proposed setback amendments are based on research of similar conditions of other rural municipalities in Southern Alberta, as well as feedback from external stakeholders.
Administration concluded the existing setbacks for Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) and solar facilities are too restrictive and are not consistent with other municipalities.
The intention behind the removal of the Energy District is to streamline the application process for wind and solar energy projects and to remove any unnecessary redesignation of land parcels.
The current application process requires an applicant to redesignate a parcel of land to Energy Regular District when proposing the construction and development of any solar or wind project.
Land redesignation and the subsequent requirements for the county to amend districts if Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) permission is granted to a project, is often confusing to landowners.
The proposed amendments would remove the confusion that is generated during the redesignation process and allow both the county and landowners to have clearly defined and active roles in the decision-making process for solar and wind applications.
Following the first reading of the proposed amendment, County administration detailed that landowners and other stakeholders were notified and asked to provide feedback prior to council’s second reading.
No industry stakeholders responded and nine landowners responded.
Wheatland County Council passed second and third reading of Bylaw 2021-17 unopposed following the presentation by County Administration.
The Strathmore Times reached out to council for comment but did not receive comment prior to publication.