The Town of Sylvan Lake has been working with eight neighbouring municipalities to create a plan to promote cooperation and partnership in the area.
It is a requirement from the Alberta Government for municipalities to create an intermunicipal development plan (IDP) with each municipality they share a common border with.
With the lake in the centre, The Town Sylvan Lake shares a border with eight municipalities: Lacombe County, Red Deer County, the Summer Villages of Birchcliff, Half Moon Bay, Norglenwold and Sunbreaker Cove.
The IDP will have an impact on decision making for each municipality over the next 20 years, specifically for the “space between” each municipality.
The IDP will help municipalities plan for environmental considerations, transportation, infrastructure/municipal services, intermunicipal programs and services, economic development and agricultural land use.
The final draft of the plan focuses on:
How development will proceed in the Plan Area;
How the environment will be protected;
What support services (recreation, infrastructure, transportation and community services programming) will be required and how it will be coordinated to accommodate future development; and
How the Partner Municipalities will continue to work together in the future to ensure the successful outcomes of their shared goals.
The IDP does not include a plan for the body of water that is Sylvan Lake, instead it is focused on the land surrounding the lake.
Currently the process of creating the plan is in it’s third phase: engagement and finalization.
An open house for the final draft of the plan was held at the Senior’s Centre on Nov. 20.
Those who came out to the open house Wednesday night were asked to participate in a survey about the IDP.
Residents unable to make it to the open house can find more information about the final draft and can participate in the survey at www.sylvanlakeidp.ca. The survey is avialable online until Dec. 4, 2019.
It is expected the intermunicipal development plan will be presented to council sometime in early 2020 for acceptance and implementation.