Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Northern Sunrise County Council gave first reading to Bylaw B469/25 at its regular meeting on March 25.
The municipality was approached by landowners who want to redistrict their land from Agricultural District (A) to Country Residential District (CR).
“The 12.9 acres are being subdivided to allow for the existing farmstead to be separated from the farmable land of the quarter,” explains Reeve Corinna Williams.
“The hope is that this will allow the farmstead to be occupied,” she adds.
The County’s Land- Use Bylaw B275/15 allows a maximum of two parcels per quarter section, with the balance of the quarter section being one of the parcels.
The applicant is hoping to complete a farmstead separation subdivision, but because the quarter section already had a subdivision, the landowners had to request a redistrict.
“The County’s LUB only allows for one subdivision per quarter in the Agricultural District, to move forward with the subdivision, the best option for the landowner is to redistrict to Country Residential,” says Williams.
“This allows council to ensure that farmable land is being protected within the Agricultural district. The redistricting requires council to review the proposed subdivisions prior to the actual subdivision application.”
Council gave first reading to the bylaw and has scheduled a public hearing for April 22 at 10:30 a.m.
“If the person who owns the subdivision does not own any other farmland, it becomes a country acreage which is taxed differently,” notes Williams.
“The MGA requires the County to have a LUB and in order to redistrict a bylaw amendment needs to be completed with the requirements set out in the MGA.”
Williams says the subdivision will allow the landowner to either sell the subdivision or the farmable land.