The Provincial government is taking Okotoks’ plans to annex 1,950 hectares of land from the MD of Foothills to the public.
The Alberta Municipal Government Board (MGB) scheduled a public hearing for the annexation on Oct. 12 in the Foothills Centennial Centre at 10 a.m.
Okotoks mayor Bill Robertson said he hopes the hearing will move smoothly and everything looks to be on track to achieve the Jan. 1 target for the completion of annexation.
“We always hope things will move smoothly, but we’ll take it one day at a time and move forward,” he said.
The Town of Okotoks is seeking to annex 1,950 hectares of land from the MD of Foothills for the next 60 years of growth.
The plan would see Okotoks’ borders extended south and west as far as the intersection of Big Rock Trail and Highway 7 to Highway 2 in the northeast.
Under the proposed annexation agreement, agricultural lands annexed into Okotoks will be taxed the same as they currently are within the MD for the next 30 years. They would be subject to Okotoks tax rates if there are any moves to develop the land any time during that period.
The meeting is open to the public to attend. Anyone can attend and ask to be heard during the meeting. People are asked to keep their questions limited to the proposed annexation boundaries or the conditions of annexation.
That said, people are encouraged to register ahead of time to allow the meeting to progress smoothly and efficiently. The deadline for written submissions is noon on Sept. 23.
“It is open to anyone interested, but it is obviously limited to the issues at hand,” said Magharita Reghelini-Griffiths, municipal affairs spokesperson.
Foothills Mayor Larry Spilak said the Town and MD were able to come to an annexation agreement both sides could agree on.
“Neither the Town nor the MD got everything that they wanted in the negotiation but we were both willing to step back and give a little and take a little,” he said.
Spilak said it was a difficult process to get to this point and both sides didn’t always agree, but he feels they are coming out of it with a stronger relationship.
“The feelings are good between the Town and the MD, we feel that we’re actually helping each other going forward,” he said. “We’re looking at it now as working in a region and we are working together now closer than we ever have.”
Robertson said the Town and MD have had “respectful differences” in several areas, such as development, over the years. He said the two sides have a positive relationship and he sees this continuing into the future.
“In my honest opinion, it’s never been a negative relationship,” he said. “We’ve agreed to disagree on various issues over the last number of years, but overall it’s very positive.”
Written submissions regarding the matter should be sent to MGB case manager Rick Duncan at Municipal Government Board, 15th Floor, Commerce Place, 10155 – 102 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 4L4.
