On Tuesday October 21st, representatives from Rocky View County and the Town of Chestermere joined forces to hold an open house to display to the public the Intermunicipal Development Plan.
Intermunicipal Development Plans are statutory agreements made by two or more municipalities relating to the management of land, uses of the land, development and growth across municipal borders.
During the preparation of the IDP, it was recognized that the Town of Chestermere growth potential is constrained by the existing development and future plans of both Rocky View County and the City of Calgary. The IDP was then developed and was jointly identified by Rocky View County and the Town of Chestermere in hopes of protecting the long term growth interests of both parties. Both groups have been heavily involved in the creation of this plan through discussions, workshops and stakeholder input sessions, which then lead to the open house to discuss with the community.
IDP’s are approved by each council (Rocky View County and Town of Chestermere) and contain certain administrative oriented policies such as a method to resolve disagreements between two municipalities. IDP can sometimes also include policies that relate to the types of land uses to be permitted within the Intermunicipal area.
By deciding to adopt this plan, the involved Councils and Staff of Rocky View County and the Town of Chestermere make a commitment to using a collaborative approach within the Plan Area and establish frame work for ongoing positive relations base on mutual respect and open communication.
The plan is basically rolled out into two parts. Part one consists of all things administrative. Communication, collaboration, primary administrative issues that staff from the County and Town will use to direct process dealings with the management of development on Intermunicipal lands. Part two is all about growth, environmental issues, parks, paths, open spaces, services, utilities, transportation, emergency and recreational services…and of course, money… who pays for what.
Harry Harker of CitySpaces Consulting Ltd, explains “this is basically putting policies in place to keep the waters clear on who is to deal with what in these varying areas. These policies are a collaborative effort and both Rocky View County and the Town of Chestermere work very well together, now it’s just time to get it written into some documents and policies just to have it confirmed on duties and responsibilities.”
Now that the open house has taken place, the only open house that will happen regarding this, the next steps is that both councils will take the plan and have go through those respective processes. For more information regarding this, you can visit http://www.rockyview.ca/BuildingPlanning/PlanningDocuments/IntermunicipalDevelopmentPlans.aspx
