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TENILLE TELLMAN
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Residents in the southeast corner want to
know their individual needs are considered as the province moves
forward with the Land Use Framework draft plan.
Minister of Sustainable Resource
Development Ted Morton met with representatives from Medicine Hat,
Cypress County, the County of Newell and 40-Mile County to provide
information on the plan and how it will be implemented on a
“go forward basis.”
Attendees were told the province will be
divided into six regions and tied in with the current watershed
groups. Regional advisory councils will be introduced and tasked
with advising government on individual priorities and issues, and
southeast Alberta’s group could be in place by the end of the
fall.
One of the main concerns expressed by
attendees Friday was a recognition of the difference between rural
and urban centres so large cities like Calgary don’t dominate
the development of the southern Alberta plans, says Morton.
“They want to know how to make sure
that urban and rural interests will be adequately represented on
that council and I assured them that they would be.”
Morton stresses the defining
characteristic within the framework is that regions are based on
watershed, and land use must be co-ordinated with water
policies.
“When it comes to water, Medicine
Hat rules,” said Morton. “But the Land Use Framework is
the other side of the coin, the water, because obviously what
happens on the watersheds effects water quality and
quantity.”
The two priority regions as the Land Use
Framework is implemented will be north and south. Morton hopes to
have the draft plan for the south region completed by the end of
2009 after the advisory committees provide feedback on priorities
and issues.
Mayor Norm Boucher hopes the feedback
demonstrates there are different needs for water in this region,
such as irrigation for farm land.
“If we don’t manage it
properly, we may have a very close limit for how much we can
grow,” said Boucher.
The initiative is a positive step not many
other provinces have looked into. Boucher says it’s good to
see government laying some level of standard and providing
leadership. At the level of growth the province is facing, it is
important to look ahead and plan for the future.
“It’s a long process to try
and be able to address everybody’s interests because
they’re all different,” said Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA
Len Mitzel. “You’re talking oil and gas, you’re
talking recreation, you’re talking agriculture, you’re
talking involvement of cities.”
The plan will also involve a
cross-ministry secretariat because of the implications the plan
will have for several departments.
The Land Use Framework was released in May
2008 for consultation. The document sets out the need, principles
and objectives, but does not deal with implementation. Morton hopes
to have the document finalized by October 2008. |
