A group of landowners is looking for support from Rocky View County (RVC) in finding a way to develop in the Balzac West area. The Balzac West Landowners Committee (BWLC) presented information to the Policy and Priorities Committee (PPC) at a meeting on Dec. 6, regarding a proposal to develop the lands within the Balzac West Area Structure Plan (BWASP).
Technical studies completed by RVC in 2015 indicated that due to the cost of servicing, development of the proposed BWASP was “not feasible” – leaving the area without water and wastewater infrastructure. According to RVC’s report, the BWLC submitted letters to the County on May 26 and Aug. 17 to request RVC support the annexation of lands in the West Balzac area into the city of Airdrie.
“A letter in response was sent on Sept. 12, advising the (BWLC) that the County was not currently contemplating any annexation,” said RVC planner Amy Zaluski in her report to PPC. “The County had provided the xity of Airdrie a substantial land supply for future development through the 2012 annexation of 12,640 acres of land – a 50-year land supply.”
The proposal presented by Robert Weston of ERW Consulting, representing the BWLC, provides an alternative option for RVC to consider – working with the City of Airdrie to develop an agreement with a “win/win opportunity for a sharing of development benefits specific to the BWASP lands without the need for new RVC water and sewer infrastructure.”
“I’ve had an opportunity to work with the County of Wetaskiwin on projects, and the County has what we think is a possible way to consider options for providing services to these lands,” Weston said. “There is a Joint Economic Development Initiative (JEDI) established about 10 years ago between the County of Wetaskiwin, the City of Wetaskiwin, as well as the Town of Millet.”
According to Weston, the JEDI model has been a “very successful” initiative and provides a number of benefits to the municipalities involved, including strong regional partnership, tax sharing, elimination of duplicated regional servicing and quicker, less expensive development of lands.
“We’re proposing that there may be a way of developing a similar model between municipalities here,” Weston said, and requested that the PPC consider providing direction to administration to determine the scope and parameters of a possible BWASP JEDI agreement, tailored to meet the specific needs and desires of both RVC and the City of Airdrie.
“(This) is a common-sense solution that will allow us the services we need with the tax revenue the County is seeking,” said area landowner Philip Perry. “We have waited patiently for far too long, and we believe the time to act is now.”
