The Town of Westlock is refreshing its Municipal Development Plan (MDP). This project will help the Town discover and plan for what's next for Westlock and its next 20 years.
Stage 5 - Final Plan Adoption is now underway. Over Summer 2024, the project team went back to work refining and finalizing the draft revised Municipal Development Plan with the findings of the latest round of public engagement in mind.
The final draft plan was then circulated for internal review amongst Town Administration and is now scheduled to be before Council for their initial review at the September 16 Committee of the Whole meeting. Details on how to attend this meeting as well as other future meetings at which the MDP will be discussed can be found here.
As part of this phase, a public hearing will be held (date to be set by Council) and the full draft plan will be made available to public for review and comment prior to the public hearing.
To sign up for project updates, including the upcoming public hearing, click on the link below:
The MDP is the Town's long-range planning document that sets the vision for the Town and guides its development over a 20 year period. Every municipality in Alberta is required to adopt an MDP under the Municipal Government Act (MGA). A MDP provides direction on a number of topics including future land use and growth patterns, infrastructure and servicing, housing, economic development, and environmental concerns. This plan helps Council to make decisions on future projects and investment.
The MDP was adopted in 2015. Since that date, the Town has undergone changes in its demographics and economic position. The intent of the refresh is to ensure that the MDP reflects the changing needs of the community in order to maintain a high quality of life for current and future residents. The refresh will also allow the Town to utilize recent plans and studies as well as reflect key trends and best practices.
The project will be completed in 5 stages. The project team has recently finished Phase 4, and is currently undertaking Phase 5, presenting the final plan for Council review and adoption.
Relevant documents from previous stages can be found in the dropdowns below.
What is a MDP?
Watch the video below to learn more about what a Municipal Development Plan is:
Stage 2 - Public Engagement: Phase One
This phase of public engagement offered two modes of participation:
1) Community Message Boards at the Heritage Building & Rotary Spirit Centre
2) Online Survey at www.westlock.ca
The engagement activities were advertised on the Town’s website and social media channels, as well as through ads in the Westlock News and on 97.9 FM.
Both the message boards and survey were focused on obtaining broad feedback on ideas for the next 20 years in Westlock. The survey also featured questions regarding the current MDPs’ vision and guiding principles, and policy topic areas such as housing and the environment.
A total of 58 survey responses and 174 message board comments were received. A full summary report of the feedback received can be viewed below:
Public Engagement: Phase One - What was Said Report
Stage 3 - Draft Revised Plan
Using the findings of the previous two (2) stages, the Project Team created a working draft of the revised MDP.
The key highlights and changes of the Draft Plan were summarized in a brief, available for download below.
The objectives of the proposed changes to the MDP are as follows:
- Align the MDP with changes to provincial legislation, and plans & studies adopted or approved by the Town since the adoption of the MDP.
- Refine and clarify policies within the MDP for ease of use, implementation, and clarity.
- Improve and expand on key policy areas such as housing, the environment, economic development, and emergency management.
Stage 4 - Public Engagement (Phase Two)
Stage 4 - Public Engagement: Phase Two took place over April and May 2024. We held a series of open houses to share and gain feedback on the key highlights & changes of the draft Plan and to help us further refine the plan prior to Council Adoption later this year. 51 attendees joined us at one of three (3) sessions:
- Wednesday, April 24 - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Thursday, April 25 - 5 to 8 p.m.
- Wednesday May 1 - 1 to 8 p.m.
A summary report of the feedback received is available for download below:
MDP Refresh - Public Engagement Phase 2 - What was Said Report
For those who were unable to attend the open houses, the display boards were posted on this page below and the Project Team remains available to meet one-on-one with those who have questions or want to provide further feedback.