Chestermere’s 25-year development plan finalized

City council approved the final readings in council of the update to the Municipal Development Plan (MDP).
The MDP is a high level planning document that provides direction and guidance for future municipal development and growth decisions by the city.
“We are quite excited about it,” said Deputy Mayor Gail Smith.
The MDP is a 25-year plan that deals with the future growth of Chestermere.
“Our areas like Waterbridge, the new areas that are going to be opening up, those are the ones that are going to be affected the most,” said Smith.
City staff have been working on the update, which has included significant public consultations, for the last two years.
The consultation process has taken many forms including, open houses, online surveys and one-on-one discussions.
The final changes to the MDP that city council approved Aug. 15 involved, the clarity of language in the document, alignment to city plan and technical documents and updates to maps.
The MDP was first brought before council Aug. 17, 2015 for first reading. The first reading was tabled with the decision being made that additional discussions and information was needed before the first reading was passed.
After an ad hoc committee reviewed the document, an amended MDP passed first reading on March 7, 2016.
A final public hearing on the amended MDP was held May 16, 2016 with no opposition voiced from the community.
The document then returned to council Aug. 15 with city staff recommending both the second and third readings of the document be passed by city council.
“I think it’s a document that makes Chestermere unique it sticks with what we believe in, what we want to see in our community, keeping us a unique city and a wonderful place to live,” said Smith.
The MDP was last updated in 2009.
With the passing of the updated MDP, staff will begin the process of implementing it. City communications staff are also working on a future release with the details of the plan.