The MD of Bonnyville, Village of Glendon, and the Summer Villages of Bonnyville Beach and Pelican Narrows are coming together to create a plan for the future of their communities.
Residents learned about the designs for the Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP) and Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework (ICF) between the MD and villages at an open house on Tuesday, Feb. 26. The session focused on what the agreement entails, the direction the municipalities could go in the future, and allowed attendees to voice their opinions.
The agreement is mandatory through the Municipal Government Act (MGA) in an effort to promote an integrated and strategic approach to intermunicipal land use planning and secure delivery for neighbouring municipalities.
MD Reeve Greg Sawchuk noted the event gave residents a chance to see what future development could look like in these areas.
“People’s land is incredibly important for them, for some, their heart and soul is their land. In a lot of cases, they don’t want something going on around them that’s going to mess with... (what’s) very dear to them,” he noted.
Pam Luciak, a Bonnyville Beach resident, attended to see what could be in store for the area.
“A lot of us have lived here forever, and we don’t want to see the green spaces taken up for development when we bought it for that specific reason that our kids could play on the green space. Some of us remember when that land was given to the MD to ensure a green space for it. It’s up to us to keep it,” she said.
The main goal of the evening was to ensure all of the information gathered so far was correct, explained Bonnie McInnis, senior land use planner for Stantec Consulting Ltd., the firm hired to create the framework.
“We just asked people... have we gathered everything that we need to? Are there things that are incorrect that we need to correct? Are there areas that we need to protect that we’re not aware of? We were just getting people to tell us what’s important to them, and whether we got all the information we need and whether it’s accurate,” she detailed.
The IDP outlines future land uses for the areas located outside of the villages and the MD, and ensures the desired long-term growth for the municipalities aren’t compromised by land use and development decisions made today.
It takes into account already existing areas, such as provincially-designated environmental spots, and addresses what could be a good fit for future development.
During the open house, some attendees raised concerns on how the IDP would affect their land.
“It’s not a restriction on what you can or can’t do with your personal property, it’s just an agreement between the two municipalities that the properties are located in,” detailed Paul Tercier, CAO for the Summer Village of Bonnyville Beach.
McInnis added, “Essentially, (the municipalities are) all agreeing to the contents of this document... and agree what it says and what’s happening on both sides of the line. It also contains a dispute resolution protocol, so they’ve agreed to that too. If they have some dispute in the future about what’s going on, there’s a formal process in place to deal with that.”
Mayor of the Summer Village of Pelican Narrows, Ashley Hornseth, believes the plans are a good start.
“When it’s done, it will be good. It will mean the municipalities will work together,” he said.
Once all the information is gathered, McInnis will make revisions to the draft plan and residents will have the opportunity to provide more feedback in the spring.
When that’s completed, the municipalities will adopt matching bylaws before the April 1, 2020 deadline.
