The MD of Bonnyville wants to make it clear that the Area Structure Plan (ASP) they’re creating isn’t set in stone.
On Thursday, April 5, the MD hosted an ASP Open House so residents could get a better idea of what the plan is all about and what happens next.
Overall, the MD was pleased with the turnout, questions, and concerns shared by residents.
“The more people you see at these meetings, open houses, and public hearings, you’re getting a diversity of opinions in terms of giving us direction in how we move forward with these plans,” said Caroline Palmer, director of planning and development for the MD of Bonnyville. “We’re only one set of eyes when we review these documents or when we’re putting all of the information together, and then when we actually put it out to the public, there will always be things that we will miss.”
Bonnie McInnis, project lead and senior land-use planner for Stantec Consulting, gave an overview of the purpose and phases of an ASP, in particular when it comes to the lands adjacent to Hwy. 28 and Hwy. 41.
“Area Structure Plans are for specific areas within the MD that need some planning consideration,” explained McInnis. “ASPs provide an outline for how lands will be managed within that specified area, and ensure development on these lands is done responsibly. ASPs are generally long-term plans.”
However, just because the MD is planning for the future, doesn’t mean the ASP can’t be amended.
“This plan is ever changing. It’s never going to stay. When we rollout this plan it’s not written in stone. Applications can be made as the economic climate changes in the whole community, different needs are going to start presenting themselves,” explained Palmer.
According to McInnis, the plan is created as a “mechanism to implement, on a more specific level, the policies that are in the Municipal Development Plan (MDP).”
An ASP describes proposed uses for the area such as industrial, residential, commercial, natural, or agricultural.
There are a number of things an ASP takes into consideration. Views and opinions of the general public are one, however the plan must also coincide with any existing plans, such as an Inter-municipal Development Plan (IDP) or MDP.
This doesn’t include environmental constraints such as wetlands, water bodies, creeks, streams, environmentally significant areas, or historic and archaeological resources.
“Part of the process is looking at existing conditions and existing constraints that may impact development,” McInnis explained. “We will look at traffic implications, and if we think this is a good area in the future for a certain site, we want to make sure that we understand what the implications will be on traffic, access, and making sure the area will function properly.”
They also take into consideration whether or not the lands can provide the proper services such as water and sewer hook-ups.
Highways, roads, well sites, and even the future regional waterline are also contemplated when drafting the ASP.
“Those are all things that are constraints to development, in particular well sites and pipelines. There are setbacks when it comes to those things, so we have to be aware of all of those constraints,” detailed McInnis.
The ASP involving the Hwy. 28 and Hwy. 41 will be prepared in five phases.
They’re currently in the second phase, which is creating baseline and context for the ASP. Next, they will move into phase three, which determines the vision, concepts, and policies, followed by phase four, creating a draft of the overall plan, and then phase five, reviewing and adopting the ASP, however before that even happens, residents will get another chance to have their say.
In total, the MD is looking at an ASP for about 11,362-hectares of land. There are 43 sections along the two highways.
“It’s the most important corridor that we have, between Hwy. 28 and 41, that’s where all of the action is,” MD of Bonnyville Reeve Greg Sawchuk said, adding the municipality was “astonished” by the number of residents who attended the open house.
“I think people wanted to find out what an ASP was, because when you hear you’re going to be doing something as far as planning goes in the area that you live in, you might get a little concerned.”
Palmer agreed, “When you see this kind of involvement and you don’t get a lot of resistance, you’re feeling like you have succeeded in giving people the power of education. It’s the unknown I think people start feeling like they have no say or control. That’s what we are trying to do through these open houses, is open dialogue and transparency.”
