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March 23, 2007
(Red Deer, Alberta) - After some facilitated planning, The City of Red Deer and Red Deer County announced they have taken the first step in a multi-step process geared towards developing a strong intermunicipal relationship.
In the spirit of cooperation, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed today between the two municipalities outlining a framework to move forward with the development of a new Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP).
“While there is still a lot of work to complete, we are committed to developing good solutions for the benefit of our respective municipalities and the Central Alberta region,” said Mayor Morris Flewwelling, The City of Red Deer. “We are embarking on a process to begin a long-term vision through the commitment to jointly develop our new IDP.”
The new IDP framework provides enough land for the city to accommodate more than 300,000 people, a need identified in Future Directions: Red Deer at 300,000, while maintaining Red Deer County’s own growth area south of the city. The new IDP will include a review and renewal process that both municipalities will participate in.
“This agreement begins the development of a new and strengthened IDP to guide County and City growth,” said Reeve Earl Kinsella, Red Deer County. “This will allow us to establish patterns of land use benefiting both municipalities and supporting appropriate growth and development, while planning for a much broader, long term strategy for future County and City growth.”
“This agreement represents the first step towards a shared alternative of the individual work of the two municipalities over the past few years,” continued Reeve Kinsella. “It represents significant cooperation between the two Councils and municipalities to forge a strong relationship with a strong commitment to the future of the respective municipalities as well as for Central Alberta.”
Mayor Flewwelling explained that after further planning and discussions between the two municipalities, The City and County came to an agreement that Gasoline Alley would remain as a County growth area. “With cooperative planning, a defined population and growth area as well as a better understanding of The County’s plans, it is understood that Gasoline Alley can become a unique area of the greater Red Deer region,” said Flewwelling. “The new IDP framework positions The City and County as being strategically and fiscally responsible in planning for the future together.”
Future steps and decision points include detailed development of the new IDP, public open houses, a public hearing and adoption of the new IDP by each Council. Kinsella and Flewwelling said both councils are committed to public consultation throughout the process.
“We have open houses planned for this spring,” said Kinsella. “As the development of an Intermunicipal Development Plan is a statutory process, there will also be further opportunities for public input.”
Working together to build a strong intermunicipal relationship, both municipalities agreed to a number of conditions ensuring the continued development of the new IDP in a successful and timely manner. These conditions include The County agreeing to support The City’s existing industrial annexation and land purchase and an upcoming residential annexation. The City has agreed to remove currently registered land-use disputes and appeals against The County. Next steps in the process include developing details of the new IDP, servicing agreements and annexation options.
“Central Alberta certainly has growth challenges ahead. As part of the region, The City and County are facing the same pressures,” said Flewwelling. “Through a number of collaborative meetings, we have completed good work and are ready for the intensive process ahead.”
Both Red Deer County and The City of Red Deer agree that a strong relationship and ongoing dialogue remains critical as they move forward with planning for each municipality. They are committed to make this a top priority to ensure the region is investment ready.
Additional information can be found on The City of Red Deer’s website at www.reddeer.ca or Red Deer County’s website at http://rdcounty.ca.
Q&A Backgrounder
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For more information, please contact:
Morris Flewwelling Craig Curtis
Mayor City Manager
The City of Red Deer The City of Red Deer
tel: 403.342.8154 tel: 403.342.8156
Earl Kinsella Rob Coon
Reeve County Manager
Red Deer County Red Deer County
tel: 403.350.2152 tel: 403.350.2152
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