After three years of planning, the process of annexing 12,640 acres of Rocky View County land by the City of Airdrie is in its final stages.
The Municipal Government Board (MGB) held a public hearing at Genesis Place in Airdrie Nov. 3.
“This annexation process required many meetings spanning over two different councils,” said Rocky View County Reeve Rolly Ashdown.
“Both the County and the City are committed to the process. I am pleased to be moving forward with this and I am satisfied with the boundaries agreement.”
Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown agreed.
“This annexation is an important step to long-term development. It will help us plan the future of the city and improve the lifestyle of residents,” he said.
The purpose of the annexation is to provide the City with a 50-year supply of land for residential, recreational, public utility, industrial, commercial and institutional use. The annexed land is home to 714 people, 231 dwelling units, 52.8 kilometres of roadways and two municipal reserves.
“For Airdrie, the annexation represents an investment in the future and it allows Rocky View County greater predictability,” said Paul Schulz, City CAO.
The MGB conducted the hearing because objections to the annexation plan have been filed with the board. Since June 2010, the City and County have held four open houses, consultations and public hearings on the matter.
Members of the MGB asked a number of questions of the City about the annexation process.
“In your notice of intent, you identified the City of Calgary as a stakeholder. I assume this is because of your agreement for water and wastewater services with the City,” said Frank Wessling of the MGB.
“Tell me about the agreement for water and sanitary services to accommodate the annexation.”
“The City of Airdrie has a long-term contractual relationship with the City of Calgary for water and wastewater services and we expect that to continue,” said Lorne Stevens, director of community infrastructure with the City of Airdrie.
“We are mindful of our water system capacity, which is for 100,000 people and our wastewater capacity at 70,000. As we start to approach these numbers, there are funding and infrastructure planning mechanisms that will see us upgrading the systems.”
Naren Garg, senior planner with the City of Airdrie, said private water and wastewater systems will remain private, but could be subject to inspection by the City to ensure they meet provincial standards.
Wessling also asked about the fact that the dwellings in the land currently located in Rocky View County will remain governed by County bylaws.
“Every bylaw will be evaluated over time and Airdrie will integrate these bylaws into our bylaws within a reasonable amount of time,” said Garg.
Under the annexation agreement, property taxes for agricultural land will remain under the County’s jurisdiction for 30 years and 20 years for all other properties.
“We will determine which properties are agricultural through an assessment process,” said Garg.
“We wanted to provide greater certainty to agricultural operators to ensure they continue to operate for many years to come.”
The City will pay the County about $2.5 million in compensation for road improvements since 2006.
Five people had objections to the annexation including representatives from Melcor Developments Ltd. and Polyco Developments.
“All people who spoke against wanted to be included in the annexation,” said Jamie Dugdale, team leader of planning at the City.
“They wanted to be closer to services, transportation, better roads and development.”
Garg said each request to be included in the annexation was established on a case-by-case basis.
“We could not justify expanding the annexation any further,” he said.
Garg said one of the concerns about the annexation came from acreage owners worried about what the change to an urban municipality will mean to them.
One company spoke against the proposal. The Gas Co-op expressed concern about losing 46 quarter sections to ATCO.
The City has a contract with ATCO and all gas service in the city must be provided through that company.
About three people spoke in favour of the annexation.
Dugdale said he expects the City will hear the MGB’s decision by February. The annexation plan still needs to be brought forward to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, the Cabinet and the Lieutenant Governor before it is officially approved.
