Drayton Valley and Brazeau County proceed to mediation to approve new IDP and ICF
The Town of Drayton Valley and Brazeau County have begun a mediation process in order to resolve “differing interests on some issues,” according to a joint media release.
While a number of municipal partners in Alberta have used arbitration to resolve differences, the Town and County have agreed that mediation is a preferred process where a resolution can be agreed to among the parties, rather than have one implemented by an arbitrator.
According to the media release, the major items of discussion are the plan and referral areas and the recreation component of the Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP) and Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework (ICF), which all Alberta municipalities are required to enter into by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
An IDP is a high-level policy plan created by neighbouring municipalities that is designed to foster cooperation and integrated development near the municipal boundaries so that unnecessary costs and negative impacts for the municipalities are avoided.