Sturgeon County Council Recap | May 3, 2022

Sturgeon County Council Recap | May 3, 2022

Here are the highlights from the May 3, 2022, Sturgeon County Council Meeting:

Deputy Mayor Comeau started off the meeting by reading out the following proclamations:

National Youth Week, May 1–7, in recognition of the valuable contributions youth make in Sturgeon County, and to help support opportunities to further youth development.

Economic Development Week, May 9-13, in recognition of the role of economic development in expanding career opportunities for residents and improving quality of life in Sturgeon County.

Council received a presentation from the President of the Alcomdale Local Development Cooperative Ltd. regarding the Co-op’s proposal to transfer its water and wastewater assets to the County. Administration will bring forward a recommendation to Council at a future meeting.

Council has approved the 2022 Dust Suppression Program, which includes fully subsidized treatment (view the maps) and partially subsidized treatment (view the maps). Council also approved additional locations for fully subsidized treatment at a total cost of $42,185, which is being funded from the General Operating Reserve (view the maps).

The Meadowview Drive collector reconstruction project will be proceeding after Council awarded the construction contract to Integrity Infrastructure Inc. at a cost of $4,895,749.40. More information on construction projects along Meadowview Drive can be found at sturgeoncounty.ca/CapitalProjects.

Agricultural inspectors have been appointed for the 2022 season. The inspectors will be conducting surveillance activities under the authority of both the Agricultural Pests Act and the Weed Control Act. More information on the programs can be found in the Agriculture Services section of the County’s website.

A public hearing was held for Bylaw 1584/22, which proposes to redistrict an area known as Highland Ridge in the Sturgeon Valley area from Country Estate Residential to Agriculture. The change was requested as the applicant noted that it would not be economically viable to develop the land into a multi-lot subdivision. After considering information shared during the public hearing, Council gave second and third reading of the bylaw.

A public hearing was also held for Bylaw 1581/22 for a redistricting application from Stratotech Raceway located in the Sturgeon Industrial Park to allow the racetrack to continue operations. The proposed bylaw will come back to Council at a later date for consideration.

Council gave first reading of bylaws 1589/22, 1590/22, and 1591/22, regarding a proposal to dissolve the County’s Municipal Planning Commission (MPC). Administration initially brought forward this recommendation in February, noting it would allow the County to process development permit applications faster without compromising the level of service. Public hearings will be held for all three bylaws at a later date to collect public feedback on the proposed dissolution of the MPC.

Council also gave first reading to Bylaw 1597/22, to amend the Land Use Bylaw by adding a new definition of “Diversified Agriculture.” The definition was one of the recommendations coming from the Agribusiness and Agritourism Review Task Force Final Report, presented to Council on April 12, 2022. The report from Administration also included information on the proposed implementation strategy for the other recommendations contained within the Final Report. A public hearing will be held at a later date to collect public feedback on the proposed Land Use Bylaw amendment. More information on the Agribusiness and Agritourism Review can be found at sturgeoncounty.ca/AgriReview.

Next Council Meeting

The next Sturgeon County Council meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. on May 24, 2022.

Future agendas and past meeting minutes can be found online.