Land use bylaw update

Leduc County is a community that is always evolving and changing. With continued growth and development happening throughout the municipality, it is important we have a land use bylaw that meets the needs of our residents and the business community.

The County is undertaking a full review and update of our current Land Use Bylaw, which was adopted by Council in 2008. This review will:

• align the Land Use Bylaw with the County’s long-term direction from the Municipal Development Plan;
• align the Land Use Bylaw with regional and provincial policies, regulations and legislation that have come into effect since the bylaw was last updated;
• ensure that the bylaw is transparent, consistent and easy to read; and
• meet the needs of the community for the next 10 to 15 years.

Based on public input from the first round of public participation in 2021, and feedback from Council received to date, the following key areas of interest have been identified as project priorities:

• Protecting agriculture and promoting appropriate agricultural uses
• Lakeside uses
• Cannabis-related uses
• Home-based businesses
• Rural wedding venues
• Shooting ranges

Although these key areas have been identified, Leduc County will review all sections of the Land Use Bylaw as part of this project.

WHAT WE'VE HEARD (SO FAR)

PHASE TWO

Between June 5 and Nov. 30, 2023, we received 200 comments about the bylaw update. The top 3 sections that received the most input are:

1. 38.5 per cent on Agriculture
2. 22 per cent on the overall vision and general comments
3. 10.5 per cent on the Nisku Business Park

Common themes were heard throughout Phase 2 of public engagement. They include:

• Allowing personal choice for development on rural land
• Environmental protection
• Protection of farmland

Phase 2: What we heard report (pdf)

PHASE ONE

From March 1 to April 12, 2021, we asked for your help to identify community land use and development needs, aspirations, concerns and issues, and to provide input on public participation preferences.

We invited all County landowners to submit their feedback in a variety of different ways, and heard from a total of 65 individual respondents.

We summarized the feedback from the first phase of public participation into three overarching themes: land use and development, bylaw expectations, and future public participation preferences.

1. Land use and development
   • Respondents want protections in place to conserve natural areas and wildlife habitat, but also want more parks and outdoor recreation opportunities, like multi-use trails and water access.
   • Respondents want development to be focused around existing industrial/commercial areas or municipalities.
   • Respondents want stronger enforcement and penalties for unsightly properties and improper land use.
   • Respondents want further clarity within the bylaw about growing cannabis, livestock on acreages, and smallscale agriculture.
   • Respondents want to keep minimum and maximum lot size restrictions around watershed areas.
2. Bylaw expectations
   • Respondents want the bylaw to be straightforward and easy to read, with practical explanations and examples.
   • Respondents want the descriptions of the different land-use districts to remain clear.

3. Public participation preferences*

   • Respondents want updates on the project via email, in the County Chronicle, or on the County’s website, but want information on public participation opportunities via email, mail, or on the County’s website.
   • Respondents want clear, condensed and easy to understand information about the project.
   • Respondents would prefer to participate online through surveys and comment forms, but are also willing to attend either in-person or virtual events.

* at the time of this survey, public health restrictions around COVID-19 prevented in-person gatherings. Both in-person and virtual tactics will be used for this project moving forward.