MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - Updates to the Mountain View County municipal development plan (MDP) approved on Dec. 9 will be helpful to area residents and businesses going forward, says reeve Bruce Beattie.
Council passed third reading of Bylaw No. 20/20 Municipal Development Plan following an $85,000, months-long review that included open houses and a public hearing.
The MDP governs development across the municipality. The update is the first major overhaul of the plan since it was adopted in 2012 following a 14-month review.
“I think there have been some good improvements and I think we’ve addressed some of the issues that have come up and that we’ve recognized could make it work better for our residents,” said Beattie. “There is good clarity and language in the (updated) document so people can understand it without having to have it translated by a planner.
“It’s been a challenge with the COVID and not being able to have the normal process that we’ve had. In the end we managed to do as much consultation as we would normally do. This was to try to adjust some of things that have come to light since 2012.”
One of the key updates involves confined feeding operations (CFOs), he said.
The updated plan removes the CFO area layer from mapping and relies on NRCB for accurate mapping of approved CFOs.
As well, the agricultural land use policies Section 3.3.15 reads, in part: “New subdivision shall not be supported on the quarter section where an approved confined feeding operation is located.”
Other updates to the MDP include the following:
• Regarding residential redesignation and subdivision in the floodway, Section 4.3.11 residential land use policies reads: “New residential redesignation and subdivision shall not be permitted within a floodway of any watercourse.”
• The growth management conceptual strategy reads, in part: “The county has identified four growth centrals as areas suitable for future development including higher density residential, commercial and industrial uses. The growth centres include the area southeast of the Town of Sundre, McDougal Flats west of Sundre, the area surrounding the Town of Didsbury, and the Water Valley/Winchell Lake area.”
• Under residential land use polices, Section 4.3.3d reads: “The maximum total area taken from a quarter section for residential subdivision shall not exceed nine acres (3.64 ha) including agricultural subdivision smaller than nine acres.”
• The growth centres and economic nodes section reads, in part, “The designation of these growth centres is focused on higher density within existing South East Sundre, Water Valley/Winchell Lake, South McDougal Flats and the area around Didsbury. Identification as a growth centre does not imply that these lands will be developed within the lifespan of this plan, nor does it imply that the landowner must develop the land.”
• The updated definition of economic nodes reads, in part: “Areas within the county that are more suitable for more commercial and industrial developments” and the new definition of growth centres would be areas “more suitable for future development including higher density residential, commercial and industrial uses.”
The complete updated MDP is available for viewing at mountainviewcounty.com.
