Land use bylaw update

PUBLIC HEARING

Leduc County is hosting a public hearing, June 24, 2025, 1:45 p.m. on the finalized draft of the County’s updated Land Use Bylaw.

The public hearing will be held in the Council Chamber of the Leduc County Administrative Office, 101-1101 5 St, Nisku AB T9E 2X3, during the regular Council meeting. Written or oral submissions can be made by any person who claims to be affected, or from any other person Council agrees to hear from:

• Written submissions – must be provided by June 17, 2025, at 4:30 p.m.
• We encourage any person interested in an In-person/ virtual presentations to pre-register by June 17, 2025, at 4:30 p.m., however, Council will hear from any persons who wishes to speak during the hearing.

Complete the online forms below or contact the legislative coordinator at legservices@leduc-county.com or call 780-770-9259.

The public hearing can be viewed online through the county’s website. Click below to be directed to our online calendar and select the ‘June 24’ council meeting. To view the public hearing online, visit www.leduc-county.com

June 24, 2025, Council meeting

Comments relating to the Land Use Bylaw Update project can be submitted online, by emailing shapingyourcounty@leduc-county.com, by mail to 101-1101 5 Street, Nisku, AB T9E 2X3, or by fax to 780-955-8866. If you make a written submission, the information you provide may be made public, subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

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 provincial policies, regulations and legislation;
• ensure that the bylaw is transparent, consistent and user friendly; and
• meet the needs of the County, its residents and business community.

WHAT WE'VE HEARD (SO FAR)

PHASE THREE

We appreciate everyone who took the time to complete the survey, visit our open houses and connect with the Planning and Development staff. The What We Heard/Did report will be shared in the coming weeks. Thank you!

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.