Need for new boundary bylaw

Sharon McLeay
Times Contributor

 

Wheatland County staff is finding some surprises, as they review information from past county councils.
Gerry Melenka, planning manager for Wheatland County, said staff found one significant omission that needs to be addressed through a new bylaw.
Evidently, hamlet boundaries were never historically defined and passed by past councils. This is now required by the Municipal Government Act. Melenka said there are about 1,500 properties in Wheatland County that will be affected by possible hamlet boundary regulations or re-designation. He said the planning department is trying to align boundaries and develop a master bylaw that will apply to all hamlets.
“There is no clear process on creating boundaries,” said Melenka. “It is a bit of fuzzy math.”
Letters were sent to all landowners affected by the boundary issue, resulting in about 200 calls, visits and emails to the planning department. Information was clarified and 95 to 98 per cent of the inquiries have been addressed. The department has received no indication that landowners have a problem with the process. He said staff will be working closely with the landowners to realign the boundaries and property designations in the easiest way possible.
“There are a lot of moving pieces in this puzzle and we are trying to do the best we can for them [land owners] in this process,” said Melenka.