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GOVERNMENT: Board to provide long-range plans for 25 municipalities around Edmonton city
    (AlbertaIndex, April 24, Thursday) --- The Alberta government has now officially established the Capital Region Board enabling the 25 area municipalities around Edmonton to develop a long-range plan to manage growth over the next 50 years.
    Premier Ed Stelmach has appointed Christopher Sheard to chair the board in the start-up period. The provincial government will provide start-up funding to the board, and ongoing support and advice as required.

The board’s immediate priority is to create a long-range plan on regional land use and infrastructure such as roads and transit.

The plan will deal with four main priorities:

1.    Regional land-use planning including identifying residential, commercial, industrial and protected areas and core infrastructure including roads, rail, pipelines, transit and utility corridors.
2.    Inter-municipal transit focusing on planning a public transportation network to include future high-growth areas.
3.    Information services for developing an electronic system for municipalities to share planning information.
4.    Affordable housing including determining the location and quantity of low-income and market-affordable housing required.

The board’s secondary priorities include planning and monitoring of water and waste management, policing, emergency services, social services, recreation and economic development.

With the board in place, Sheard is expected to soon call for its first meeting. Over the coming weeks, the board and provincial government representatives will meet with interested parties to ensure clear understanding on the role of the board and to gather input.

“Moving forward on regional planning is part of my government’s plan to prepare for the long term future of the province,” said Premier Ed Stelmach. “Recognizing the scale of challenges the capital region faces it is essential that infrastructure and services be provided in a timely and effective way.”

Ray Danyluk, Minister of Municipal Affairs, said this is an important milestone in meeting the development needs of the capital region.

“Our government is absolutely committed to making this board and this region work,” he said.

The regional board consists of mayors and reeves from the 25 municipalities in the Alberta Capital Region.


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