County of Wetaskiwin

Land Development Process*

The following is a brief overview of the Land Development Process in the County of Wetaskiwin. For more detailed information visit the County’s website.

Step 1 – Submit Area Structure Plan (ASP) to municipality

• Meet with municipal planning department prior to drafting the ASP to have a pre-draft meeting to review a list of 14 points (ranging in the vision of the developer to utility requirements to document formatting).
• Meet with municipal planning department to present ASP and review project (Note: before an ASP is reviewed by the County of Wetaskiwin, an independent presentation of the ASP must be made to the general public and communications and results of the presentation must be included in the ASP)
• Planning department will review and circulate ASP to relevant internal departments
• Planning department will circulate to external agencies, which can include:
  • Alberta Transportation (roads, traffic)
  • Alberta Environment and Parks
  • Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
• Planning department will identify, to the developer, any fees or off-site levies that may need to be paid to the municipality for the development
• Revise the ASP to correct for any required changes or issues brought forward by the planning department and/or external agencies (revisions may continue until all required changes are completed)
• Final draft is advertised and submitted to municipal council
• Initial public hearing held for general ASP. There are three council readings for an ASP application and in the initial public hearing all three readings may be completed in one sitting. If more information is needed, if changes are required or if public issues are identified, the second and third reading may be extended to additional council meetings until the ASP is satisfactory.
• ASP is approved or refused
• For the detailed municipal ASP requirements refer to: County Policy 61.1.6– Requirements for Area Structure Plan Policy

Timeline: (ASP drafting and finalizing: 2 – 3 months**)

(ASP approval after final draft: 2 – 3 months**)

Step 2 – Redistricting (Rezoning) Application

• Redistricting (rezoning) application submitted for approved ASP
• Planning department will review and circulate redistricting application to relevant internal departments
• Planning department will circulate to external agencies which can include:
  • Alberta Transportation (roads, traffic)
  • Alberta Environment and Parks
  • Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
• Final draft is advertised and submitted to municipal council
• Initial public hearing held for redistricting application (separate from ASP initial public hearing – if proper zoning already exists on the development, this public hearing is not required). There are three council readings for a redistricting (rezoning) application and in the initial public hearing all three readings may be completed in one sitting. If more information is needed, if changes are required or if public issues are identified, the second and third reading may be extended to additional council meetings until the redistricting application is satisfactory.
• Redistricting (rezoning) is approved or refused

Timeline: (2-3 months**)

Step 3 – Subdivision Application

• Submit a subdivision application for the approved ASP
• Municipal Planning Services Ltd. (MPS) will review and circulate to relevant municipal departments (only reviewed by MPS and municipal departments; council hearings are not required for subdivision applications)
• MPS will circulate to external agencies which can include:
  • Alberta Transportation (roads, traffic)
  • Alberta Environment and Parks
  • Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
• Revise subdivision application to correct for any required changes or issues brought forward by MPS, the County and/or external agencies (revisions may continue until all required changes are completed)
• Subdivision is approved or refused

Timeline: (2 months**)

Step 4 – Development Agreement

• A development agreement is prepared for the approved ASP
• Developer provides initial design drawings
• Planning department will review and circulate to relevant internal departments (only reviewed by municipal departments; council hearings are not required for development agreement)
• Commitments under the Development Agreement are approved

Timeline: (2 months**)

*This is a guide for the process and approval of land developments in JEDI’s partner municipality. It provides guidance and serves as a reference for developers, industry, land owners and the general public. While every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information provided here is accurate, it does not provide the specific requirements such as form submissions or fees required by the municipality, and thus all specific project details should be discussed with the municipality. Joint Economic Development Initiative (JEDI) does not accept any responsibility or liability for any loss, disruption or damage to any parties using information derived from this process reference, nor does it warrant that information in this reference will be error-free.

**The stated timelines are the general averages of the duration of each process for the municipality. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide proper and completed documents. Timelines may vary based on the applicant’s response time to the municipality’s staff requests for additional information and/or materials that are required. Additionally, timelines may also change depending on the complexity of the project.