Planning and Development

Big Valley is located close to major towns and cities and we are accessible by excellent road systems. Our community has quality education, recreation and health services, combined with a unique sense of community spirit. Fuse this with an excellent quality of life, low cost of living and a small-town atmosphere and you have many excellent reasons to relocate to our Village.

The Municipal Government Act identifies the hierarchy and relationship of statutory plans, so that each plan will be consistent with the plans above it and, in the event of an inconsistency, which provisions in what plan will prevail.

Land use planning in Alberta must follow plans at both the provincial and municipal level of government.

With the implementation of the Provincial Land Use Framework and the Alberta Land Stewardship Act, some planning decisions will be made at the regional level as well. Land use may also be subject to other federal and provincial regulations.

The graph below outlines the Village of Big Valley’s hierarchy of land use planning decisions with links to the documents below.

PROVINCIAL LAND USE FRAMEWORK (LUF)

The Land-use Framework (LUF) sets out a new approach to managing our province’s land and natural resources to achieve Alberta’s long-term economic, environmental and social goals. The LUF establishes seven new land-use regions and calls for the development of a regional plan for each. Pages – default (alberta.ca)

INTERMUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (IDP)

Intermunicipal Development Plans are made when municipalities share borders to address cooperation regarding planning matters of joint interest, addressing land use concerns, procedures for dealing with development proposals, and other matters related to the physical, social or economic development of the area. Big Valley currently shares an IDP with the County of Stettler please see below.

LAND USE BYLAW (LUB)

A Land Use Bylaw (LUB) is a planning document that regulates the use and development of the land and buildings within the Village. The LUB is consistent with all of the above planning documents. Control measures, such as, development permits, rezoning and subdivision applications, are directly reviewed against the LUB before approval or refusal. The Village’s LUB can be found below.

All of the above documents allow for the Village to plan for the future in a manner that makes sense.  All the documents that are mandated relate to each other, some at a higher level than others but all strive for the same goal and that is to see the Village grow and succeed with thoughtful planning and strategies.