The County of Wetaskiwin wants your input as we prepare a new Municipal Development Plan (MDP). Six public open houses are scheduled across the County where you can learn about the draft MDP, read the proposed policies, and find out how you can share your perspectives on the plan that will guide land use and development in the County for the next 10 to 20 years.
The draft Municipal Development Plan (MDP) has been prepared and is being circulated on the County’s website.
MDP Review Open Houses:
- Monday, October 17, 2022 - Buck Lake Community Hall
- Tuesday, October 18, 2022 - Winfield Agriplex Hall
- Wednesday, October 26, 2022 - Falun Community Hall
- Thursday, October 27, 2022 - Mulhurst Bay Community Hall
- Wednesday, November 2, 2022 - Millet Agriplex Banquet Hall
- Thursday, November 3, 2022 - Wetaskiwin Ag Society Barn
All sessions will run from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
What is a Municipal Development Plan?
The MDP is an important planning and decision-making tool for the County. The MDP is the County’s long-range land use planning document, outlining direction and strategies to inform how the County will look, feel, and grow in the future. It guides decision makers when they consider land use and development matters.
What might be changing?
The County’s project team has prepared a draft MDP, based on Council and Administration input and considerable background research. Certain topics are particularly important to County residents and are included in the draft MDP. The draft MDP includes policies on the following areas of interest:
Protecting agricultural land and the County’s rural character.
- Discouraging the County’s best soils from being converted to uses other than agriculture.
- Identifying areas where agriculture is the preferred land use.
- Establishing different subdivision and development policies for the western and eastern parts of the County based on soil conditions and topography.
- Clarifying where the County will and will not support new or expanded Confined Feeding Operations.
Providing opportunities for residential development in appropriate locations.
- Directing where new residential development will be encouraged to make the best use of existing infrastructure.
- Identifying an Acreage Policy Area where new multi-lot country residential subdivisions will be supported.
- Establishing site and servicing requirements for multi-lot country residential development.
Supporting economic development.
- Encouraging innovative and value-added agricultural development.
- Encouraging commercial and industrial developments in appropriate locations.
Protecting important environmental features.
- Establishing setbacks from watercourses and waterbodies.
- Encouraging the retention of tree cover and natural vegetation in sensitive locations.
Supporting the right kind of growth in hamlets.
- Supporting growth in hamlets that have existing infrastructure capacity.
- Encouraging commercial development in hamlets to support the surrounding community.
Stewarding the County’s lakes responsibly.
- Establishing policies to protect the long-term health and wellbeing of the County’s lakes.
- Identifying lakes where new development is supported in a responsible manner and in appropriate locations.
- Identifying lakes where higher-intensity development is discouraged.
There may be other land use and development issues that are important to you. We encourage you to come out and share your thoughts to make sure Council considers them prior to finalizing and approving the MDP.
How will your feedback be used?
The feedback you share will be used to improve the draft MDP before Council considers adopting the plan. Input from the open houses will be considered as the project team revises and refines the MDP. This might include rewording some policies to better reflect the County’s goals, deleting others where they are not needed, or adding new policies where more direction is required.
Your feedback will be reported to Council and shared publicly in a What We Heard Report. The report will be posted later this fall.
For more information, please contact:
Naomi Finseth, Communications Officer at 780-361-6220 or email.
Read the complete News Release here.