Intermunicipal Development Plan

On October 15th, a Public Hearing took place where both Councils received a presentation on the revised IDP and the public had the chance to express their support or concerns regarding the plan. The Intermunicipal Development Plan has since been adopted as Bylaws by both Councils.

What is an Intermunicipal Development Plan?

The Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP) is a statutory document that outlines a vision for development and infrastructure near municipal boundaries. It includes policies such as future land uses, regional environmental and open space networks and future transportation projects.

The City and County of Grande Prairie's IDP was first adopted on June 14, 2010. In September 2019, both municipalities initiated the process of updating their existing IDP. Since then, various updates have been made to guide land use changes that occur in the IDP area and to ensure the alignment of both municipalities’ current goals. 

Past Engagement Events

Public Hearing

The City and County of Grande Prairie held a joint public hearing on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, at Teresa Sargent Hall in Montrose Cultural Centre (9839 103 Ave, Grande Prairie). 

During the hearing, City and County Council had the chance to ask questions about the draft IDP. Community members were also invited to share their opinions on the proposed plan. After the public hearing, each Council reviewed the feedback and decided on the approval of the draft IDP during their regular Council meetings.

The key changes in the proposed IDP include:

• Adding a Vision to the IDP.
• Providing concept land uses for all of the IDP area.
• Introducing a two-tier Area Structure Plan (ASP) process for future development.
• Updating the referral area to exclude areas located beyond the future ring road to the southwest and east.
• Reducing the timeline for referred document review from 30 days to 14 days. 
• Additionally, the proposed IDP requires connection to municipal services for new high-intensity subdivisions within ¼ section of city boundary (except for areas where IACPs are exempt). 
• Lastly, it adopts the dispute resolution process established in the Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework (ICF). The proposed IDP, when adopted, will replace the current IDP.
  

Public Open Houses

• An open house was held on October 7, 2024 for community members to review the draft IDP bylaw. 
• Two open houses were held on July 18 and 19, 2024 for community members to review the updates to the draft IDP and provide comments and feedback.

Purpose of the IDP

The purpose of updating the IDP is to develop policies and relationships for the mutual benefit of the City and County of Grande Prairie, and to provide for coordination in areas of mutual concern, which may include:

• Residential, commercial, industrial/business parkland use and development;
• Environmental management;
• Public and institutional uses (parks, leisure, open space and trails);
• Transportation, servicing infrastructure, and utilities; and,
• Any additional considerations required by legislation.

Project History

The project initially began in September 2019 and progressed into 2020. During this period, the overall vision and direction for the IDP area were developed through several engagement events with the public, key stakeholders, and members of the City and County Councils. The project was then put on hold in mid-2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and to allow the municipalities time to develop an Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework.

In May 2023, the IDP project was re-initiated. Since then, building on the work and engagement efforts from 2019 and 2020, the project team completed the initial full drafts of the document. These drafts were presented to the Joint Steering Committee for review and feedback. Based on the committee's comments, the document was subsequently revised to address their concerns.