Thousands of acres of land in the McDougal Flats area to the southwest of Sundre could be under a development moratorium, pending a vote by Mountain View County councillors.
Mountain View County Reeve Bruce Beattie said a moratorium on development is an interim measure pending analysis of the Golder Associates McDougal Flats Flood Hazard Study and the results of using that data to project flood hazard areas.
“A moratorium would allow us more time to study the issue and ensure we're putting the proper long-term planning processes in place to adequately deal with this new reality,” Beattie explained.
The study area encompasses county-owned land as well as private land and includes the Sundre airport and Coyote Creek Golf Course, as well as agriculture land and at least one multi-lot residential subdivision.
During its July 9 regular meeting, council asked administration to prepare a Moratorium Bylaw.
According to a county press release, such a bylaw, if passed, would mean development or applications for development would not proceed within the entire study area until the moratorium is lifted by council and a new planning framework for the area – guided and supported by the flood mapping in the Golder Report – is in place.
The report says a portion of the study area will be considered a floodway and another portion within the study area will be designated as flood fringe, according to the county.
Provincial regulations regarding development in floodways are laid out in Bill 27 - legislation that was passed in December 2013 in response to the widespread flooding in the southern part of the province.
These regulations will severely limit the types of development allowed within both floodways and the flood fringe, according to a county press release.
Bill 27 also states that the planning authority in the area, in this case Mountain View County, “must amend any statutory plan and its land use bylaw to conform with the regulation.”
First reading of the proposed bylaw will be considered by council on Wednesday, August 13. On that date, if council gives the bylaw first reading they will set a date for public hearing. Following the setting of a public hearing date, the county would directly notify by mail all affected landowners in the study area, while also advertising the public hearing to the general public.
The time period between first reading and the public hearing would allow for written comments for council to consider and for those comments to be included in the agenda package.
- Smaldon
