(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Alessia Proietti

Council endorses Notice of Intent to Annex

Red Deer wants to expand: land annexation north of city

Feb 15, 2022 | 1:15 PM

Shown in the blue outline is the proposed land annexation north of the Queen’s Industrial Business Park and west of the QEII Highway. (City of Red Deer)

Recently regaining its title of Alberta’s third-largest city, naturally that means Red Deer will eventually need more space.

This week, city council passed a resolution endorsing a Notice of Intent to Annex, supporting and directing administration to begin the formal annexation process. This would ultimately shift the responsibility for a piece of land currently in Red Deer County to the City of Red Deer.

On June 22, 2021, council gave direction to administration to prepare a Notice of Intent to Annex for the land north of the Queen’s Industrial Business Park and west of Highway QEII. This small-scale annexation encompasses approximately 137 hectares.

“This annexation speaks to a potential economic development opportunity to attract and retain business investments, create employment opportunities, and boost the economy,” said Mayor Ken Johnston. “Commercial development along Highway QEII leverages Red Deer’s central location and contributes to expanding and diversifying Red Deer as a long-term economic hub.”

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Annexation is used by municipalities to realign jurisdictional boundaries to ensure a sufficient land supply for long-term development. The Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP) between Red Deer and Red Deer County recommends the city have within its boundary a 30 to 50-year supply of developable land for growth purposes. Recent data indicates the city has 22 years of developable land available.

The City says it is lacking in commercial land use on highway fronts and that it is mostly urbanized up to its western boundary. The remaining undeveloped land currently has residential and commercial plans. The additional land supplied through this annexation is expected to allow for mainly commercial and potentially some residential opportunities.

Figures for 2021 show a population increase 0.42 per cent from 2016, or a total of 100,844 people, up from 100,418. As this growth is not as high as in previous years, the annexation size is smaller-scale, with the intent to work with the County for a phased approach to larger annexations in the future.

Costs to the City would begin in 2023. However, administration states it plans to begin commercial development quickly. The next step for council in the process will be to endorse the Report on Negotiations with the County and landowners. The expected completion date of the annexation is Sept. 1.

A proposed public consultation plan is also included in the notice for transparency during the process. The suggestions include having a website showing the annexation’s progression, letters to landowners, an open house of the area for the public, advertising, and one-on-one meetings.

Residents can visit www.reddeer.ca/annexation for more information and a Frequently Asked Questions section.