Boundaries of the Town of Stettler could be expanded as early as Jan. 1, 2010 when the town will annex six quarter sections from the County of Stettler with full support from county council.
Now that the proposed application has been approved by the county, the plan will be submitted to the provincial Municipal Government Board (MGB) under the Ministry of Municipal Affairs for final approval.
“The board can change any terms of the plan, determine the effective date and the number of quarter sections that can be annexed,” said town administrator Rob Stoutenberg.
He expects a response from the MGB by next spring.
County council endorsed the final draft report from the town to the provincial Municipal Government Board at its regular meeting Dec. 9, almost three years after discussions began between the town and county.
“It is anticipated the board may hold a hearing in the spring and that the effective date of annexation will be retroactively Jan. 1, 2010,” said Johan van der Bank, director of planning and development.
To meet the growth needs in the next 40 years, the town will annex:
• Four quarter sections to the west of the town along Highway 12, being Section 1-39-20-W4M.
• One quarter section west of Tower Road, being the SE 7-39-19-W4M around the Emerson subdivision.
• One quarter section to the south of the town along and to the east of Highway 56, being the SW 31-38-19- W4M.
“This means that for several decades, there should not be further annexation by the town, which saves the county taxpayers some cost,” said van der Bank.
Affecting 43 parcels of land, 36 property owners either supported or did not react to the annexation.
Just seven property owners either opposed the proposal or objected with conditions.
Annexation was negotiated in line with the inter-municipal development plan (IDP) for the two municipalities
“The county will not oppose the town’s annexation of the immediate growth area within the lifetime of this IDP,” states the report prepared the by the town.
Both the town and county agree that upon approval of the annexation, the town would make a one-time payment of $287,990 to the county to compensate for infrastructure that the county provided at its cost within the town’s proposed immediate growth area.
This includes work to upgrade 70 Street and construct the service road by UFA and CH4.
As well, the county will annually pay the town $128,000 for recreation cost-sharing for the first 10 years following annexation of the short-term annexation lands.
“Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding reflects a growing relationship between the county and town as they work together to strengthen the regional community for the future,” says the town report.
Impact on taxation for new property owners will be minimized as both the town and county agreed to protect landowners from ever-changing tax rates.
To protect landowners from fluctuating municipal tax rates, the town will tax annexed properties at the lower rate of the two municipalities for 10 years.
Once subdivided, developed or redeveloped for new use of property, lands will be taxed at the town’s tax rate.
Farming operations are protected through the town’s land-use bylaw which considers farms a permitted use within the urban reserve district.
The county will record an assessment loss of 1.2 per cent while the town will experience a gain of three per cent.
A majority of the annexed land is assessed as farmland or residential.
“Given that these assessment classes generate 22 per cent of the county’s revenue in 2008, the affect of this annexation will be less significant as the county is more reliant on non-residential properties to generate tax income,’ says the report.
