Sundre’s council is considering a proposed area structure plan for a new southwest industrial district on an undeveloped quarter section within the municipality’s boundaries.
When Rolling Mix Concrete purchased the roughly 63-hectare unserviced lot in 2004, the land was under the jurisdiction of Mountain View County, which fully supported future gravel operations.
But in 2010, the Town of Sundre annexed the property, and the municipality does not include any accommodation for aggregate extraction within its boundaries in future development plans.
However, the land is nevertheless destined to serve as a light industrial district to be developed depending on economic factors and developer interest.
Yet residents can at least rest easy in the knowledge that Sundre won’t have another dusty, potentially loud and heavy traffic generating operation on its doorstep.
There are, after all, plenty of such pits in the area, with another still planned immediately adjacent to the quarter section on county land.
“Because the study area is located on the edge of town, all lands to the south, west and southwest are located in Mountain View County and include: rural industrial uses, the Sundre Airport, the quarter section to the west is proposed for gravel extraction by Mountain View County,” reads a portion of the proposed area structure plan, which is available on the Town of Sundre’s website.
The local council unanimously agreed during the Feb. 19 meeting to recess the public hearing before approving the plan to allow additional time to meet with county colleagues to resolve concerns.
We’re glad to see that despite any differences of opinion, both municipalities have been willing to meet to discuss a path forward.
Compromise and collaboration will always triumph over competition and obstruction.
So we look forward to seeing what further review of the area structure plan for Sundre’s southwest industrial park will yield, and hope the two councils come to agreeable terms that satisfy all parties involved.
— Ducatel is the Round Up’s editor
