Intermunicipal Development Plan

Brazeau County and Town of Drayton Valley Intermunicipal Development Plan

What is an IDP?

An Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP) is a high-level policy plan created by neighbouring municipalities. The Government of Alberta mandates that municipalities with a shared border complete an IDP.

An IDP is designed to foster cooperation and integrated development near the municipal boundaries so that unnecessary costs and negative impacts for the municipalities are avoided. The principles and objectives established in the IDP guide the growth of future development by identifying general locations for major land uses and servicing. In addition to guiding future growth, if there is a disagreement between municipalities on development, IDPs provide a framework for dispute resolution.

An IDP is not annexation and does not change any municipal boundaries. In accordance with the existing Annexation Settlement Agreement between Town of Drayton Valley and Brazeau County, no further annexations will happen until:

• the Town’s population is 19,362, or
• January 1st, 2061.

As a point of reference, the Town’s population as of the 2016 Federal Census is 7,235.

An IDP also does not rezone land within either the Town of Drayton Valley or Brazeau County.

The IDP can be viewed here!

IDP Area

In summary, the Plan Area and the Referral Area are now one and the same area. As such, the County’s referral area has been reduced from 0.4 km to match the inner Plan Area boundary that is 0.1 km inside the Town Boundary. Additionally, the Plan Area in the Town’s IDP 2020/03/D that was adopted on March 18, 2020, has been reduced by roughly half (from 0.8km – 2.4km to 0.4km – 1.2km into the County) so that it more closely follows what was the Referral Area prior. More specifically, the new IDP is described as:

• Where the Plan Area of IDP 2020/03/D extends three full quarter-sections from the Town/County boundary, the Plan Area is reduced to 1.5 quarter-sections;

• Where the Plan Area of IDP 2020/03/D extends two full quarter-sections from the Town/County boundary in the Draft IDP, the Plan Area is reduced to one quarter section,

• Where the Plan Area of IDP 2020/03/D extends one full quarter-section from the Town/County boundary, the Plan Area is reduced to 0.5 quarter-sections, and;

• The Plan Area of IDP 2020/03/D remains the same where it follows the North Saskatchewan River Valley or top-of-bank.

You can find a summary of the IDP changes here!