SUNDRE — Council set two public hearing dates later in September by way of motion after giving first reading to proposed bylaw amendments.
During the first regular council meeting held on Aug. 16 following the summer break, administration introduced requests for decision to give first reading to a municipal development plan amendment as well as an area structure plan amendment.
“It was just first reading. So, it’s just really getting the bylaw on the table,” said Linda Nelson, chief administrative officer, during an interview.
The municipal development plan is a living document that from time to time requires updates, like all planning documents, Nelson told The Albertan.
“So, there were a couple of changes that we’re proposing,” she said, adding one is to remove the urban reserve designation from the southeast lands where the new campground and outdoor recreation area is going.
An urban reserve is a holding zone, and the land was designated as such dating back to its prior history when the parcel remained part of Mountain View County many years ago, she said.
“It was showing in the municipal development plan as future industrial, and of course that has changed over time,” she said.
“It will end up being more of a public space.”
The planned development of the four-season campground and outdoor recreational area will cater not only to visitors but the community as well, she said.
“The next area that we did was on the Eagle Ridge quarter section,” she said, adding that ties in with proposed amendments to the area structure plan that also was given first reading.
“It was just to identify that area and show one block of land there that’s already been subdivided as a special area. So, there could be a variety of different uses in that area.”
That quarter section is located along Centre Street North on the way to James River, just south of the Sundre Hills quarter section, which has previously been earmarked as a potential development for bareland condominium units.
“They’re adjacent to each other,” she said about both parcels, which each have separate owners and different area structure plans.
As first reading serves primarily to get the ball rolling, there typically isn’t an in-depth discussion on the proposed amendments. And when any land use document is poised to change, such as a zoning redesignation, a municipality must have a public hearing, she said.
A hearing date of Sept. 20 was set for both the municipal development plan as well as the Eagle Ridge area structure plan amendments. All pertinent information about the proposed changes will be presented at that time, after which council will -- depending on how those discussions go -- consider motions to carry second and third reading.
