The Town of Olds has begun the review process of its Municipal Development Plan (MDP), which was last updated in 2007.
Council passed a motion to that effect during its regular meeting March 13.
The process is expected to take 18 months, beginning this month and -- accounting for the upcoming municipal election period -- is expected to be complete by July 2018.
"After 10 years, a number of things have changed in the community," said Craig Teal, who presented the review process plan to council on behalf of Parkland Community Planning Service (PCPS), which will spearhead the project.
There has been an increase in the number of residential neighbourhoods, commercial development in the west end, and other policies have been created over the years.
"Some of those might have a bearing on what we do with the physical setup of the community," said Teal. "It's time to see if the overall policy packages are still doing the job."
The review process is intended to access the previous plan to determine what is and isn't working.
"Part of the exercise is to understand how we got to where we are today," said Teal, "and then turn around and ask, ëdo the policies still point us in the direction we'd like to get, or do we have to make a course correction?'"
The review process submitted to council proposes five phases, including an initial assessment, policy changes, public consultation, revision and formal adoption.
The cost for PCPS to work on the MDP review is $68,845 in fees and $3,442 in expenses, which do not include advertising or open house costs. Funds for the MDP review process have been identified in the 2017 budget, and will be spread over two fiscal years if required.
It is mandatory for all municipalities in Alberta to have an MDP in place.
"This development plan is the overall blueprint in terms of the policy for the physical setup you want a community to have," said Teal, who says the aim of an MDP is to account for the overall vision of what the community would like to be, whether that's a small-town feel, a sustainable community or an industrial focus.
This includes policies for what future neighbourhoods, industrial parks and commercial areas would look like.
"Usually I expect healthy discourse about the various topics and issues that may be flagged for a specific review," said Teal. "We don't know until we get into it."
Coun. Mary Jane Harper asked about changes made to increase the minimum density target for Olds.
Many municipalities never establish a target population density, said Teal, but it is important to do so in order to evaluate efficiency in the area and plan for future infrastructure, such as transit or commercial spaces.
"I expect this to be one of the topics that gets flagged for further discussion," said Teal.
"After 10 years, a number of things have changed in the community."CRAIG TEAL PARKLAND COMMUNITY PLANNING SERVICES
