OLDS — Town council has taken another step toward annexing three quarter sections of land just east of town.
The land the town plans to annex runs in an upside down “L” shape.
It runs east from the Rge. Rd 14 to Rge. Rd. 13, then south to Highway 27.
In addition to those chunks of land, the plan is also to annex 1,600 metres of land of Rge. Rd. 13 north from Highway 27 and about 400 metres of Rge. Rd. 14 north from the edge of town.
During its Aug. 24 meeting, council passed a motion authorizing administrative staff to send a notice of intent to annex the land to various provincial and municipal officials, including representatives of Mountain View County, the Municipal Government Board and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper.
The proposal to annex the land was laid out in an updated draft Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP) unveiled by representatives of the town and Mountain View County in July.
An open house regarding that draft IDP was held Aug. 27 at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 105 in Olds.
The notice of intent, provided in town council’s Aug. 24 agenda, cites nine reasons for the proposed annexation, saying the town needs to do so in order to “plan for and attract commercial and industrial development.”
It says since 2006, there has been “significant interest” in generating commercial activity in Olds.
“The available supply of land to accommodate new commercial interests, the most attractive of which has been along the Highway 7 corridor, has been depleted and additional long term frontage along Highway 27 will be required,” the notice states.
It says interest in developing land for industrial purposes has grown since 2015.
The notice says “sizeable blocks” of that land have already been developed and more has been obtained for future projects.
As a result, “the available supply of land has dropped to a 20-year supply when the impact of lands not available to the market is taken into account,” it says.
The notice of intent says available industrial land is "becoming concentrated in the hands of a small number of landowners.”
As a result, the amount of industrial land and the location of that land is becoming tighter and tighter for prospective investors.
“The Town’s long term economic prospects are better served by having a diverse supply of industrial lands available,” the notice says.
It says having more land in the community’s inventory makes it easier to negotiate with land owners when planning the creation of commercial and industrial parks.
The notice says annexing the land would make it more economically feasible to extend services like wastewater.
It also says annexing that land would give town officials more control over the eventual design and construction of a northern arterial road.
According to the notice of intent, development of lands in a northeast commercial and/or industrial park may not occur for four or five years, but acquiring the land now would give town officials time to properly plan that development.
“While this is taking place, the available supply of commercial and industrial land in the town boundaries will continue to drop,” it says.
The notice of intent further says that private utilities will need time to plan the extension of their infrastructure into this commercial/industrial park.
“In summary, the proposed annexation is a key step in implementing the town’s overall plans to become a viable, safe, family-oriented and healthy community that embodies the sustainable development goals and objectives of the provincial land use policies,” the notice concludes.
