MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY — A public hearing scheduled for Nov. 18 will allow residents a final chance to give feedback into proposed changes to the county’s municipal development plan (MDP), including those regarding concentrated confined feeding operations.
“The public hearing is the last opportunity for the public to provide input on the proposed policies before council makes the decision,” said Margaretha Bloem, director of planning and development services.
“Council’s options are to proceed with the policies as proposed or amend the policies. After council gives second and third reading of the bylaw, the new MDP policies will apply and be used to evaluate applications.”
The MDP governs development across the county, which includes more than 1,800 farms and ranches. County council approved $85,000 for the plan review in the 2019 budget.
The review has involved gathering stakeholder input on how agriculture, businesses and the environment in the county can be supported.
A number of public open houses have been held as part of the review process.
The upcoming public hearing will see council consider proposed amendments, which include the following:
• Add policies to deal with legal and physical access for subdivision and development.
• Amend the policy for agricultural subdivision to have more flexibility to consider parcels smaller than 40 acres when supported by land use considerations.
• Remove the concentrated confined feeding operation (CFOs) area layer from mapping and rely on Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) for accurate mapping of approved CFOs. Restrictions on subdivisions apply to the 800-metre radius of the subject quarter section where an approved CFO is located.
• Add a policy that a road use agreement shall be required during construction of new or expanding CFOs.
• Remove the growth centres from around the towns in the district and the Village of Cremona but retain two growth centres, one southeast of the Town of Sundre and one at Water Valley-Winchell Lake.
• Change the fragmented parcels policies to be inclusive of subdivision potential from a quarter section and not in addition to, and amend the definition of fragmented parcel.
• Add four economic nodes: Olds-Didsbury airport; the intersection of Highway 2 and Hwy 582 east of Didsbury; the intersection of Highway 27 and Highway 22; and the Sundre airport west of Sundre.
Written submissions regarding the plan must be submitted to the county no later than 9 a.m. on Nov. 16.
