Strathmore's MDP

Strathmore's MDP identifies future development patterns and facilitates longer-term land use planning and economic growth. The Town's MDP provides residents and businesses with information on how the municipality will address the current and future needs of the community, including land use, transportation systems, municipal services, environmental, and other considerations. The MDP also provides "spin-off" assistance in terms of guiding and directing other municipal statutory and non-statutory plans, by-laws, guidelines, and implementation tools.

The MDP also further creates an important connection and understanding of expectations between Council, local communities consisting of both residents and businesses, external agencies and stakeholders, and the Town's corporate and business administration processes.

The MDP must reflect and be consistent with the Town of Strathmore-Wheatland County Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP), and it may at times also be limited in part by regulations that are set by federal and provincial governments.

Explore the FAQ's and Relevant MDP Documents below for more information:

MDP FAQs

The Technical Stuff

All municipalities in the Province of Alberta are required to adopt an MDP under Section 632 of the Municipal Government Act, RSA 2000, cM-26 (MGA). As a statutory plan, the MDP must address certain matters and issues as described under 632(3) of the MGA. Specifically, the MDP must address the following matters:

The future land use within the municipality
The manner of and the proposals for future development in the municipality
The provision of the required transportation systems either generally or specifically within the municipality and in relation to adjacent municipalities
The provision of municipal services and facilities, either generally or specifically
Policies compatible with the subdivision and development regulations to guide the type and location of land uses adjacent to sour gas facilities
Policies respecting the provision of municipal, school, or municipal and school reserves, including but not limited to the need for, amount of and allocation of those reserves and the identification of school requirements in consultation with affected school boards
Policies respecting the protection of agricultural operations

The MGA provides for additional flexibility on the inclusion of other topic areas, which may include addressing the following matters:

Proposals for the financing and programming of municipal infrastructure
The co-ordination of municipal programs relating to the physical, social and economic development of the municipality
Environmental matters within the municipality
The financial resources of the municipality
The economic development of the municipality
Any other matter relating to the physical, social or economic development of the municipality
Statements regarding the municipality’s development constraints, including the results of any development studies and impact analysis, and goals, objectives, targets, planning policies and corporate strategies
Policies respecting the provision of conservation reserve in accordance with Section 664.2(1)(a) to (d) of the MGA.

The Town’s MDP does not directly address the coordination of land use, future growth patterns and other infrastructure with adjacent municipalities because the Town of Strathmore and Wheatland County have together adopted an Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP). The MGA does not require these matters to be addressed in the MDP as they are addressed more appropriately within the Town of Strathmore-Wheatland County IDP.

What is a Municipal Development Plan (MDP)?

MDP's are policy-based land use planning documents that are required by statute law in the Province of Alberta under the Municipal Government Act (MGA).

MDP's typically describe a vision along with goals, objectives and policies that are intended to provide a municipality with longer-term guidance as it relates to land use planning, economic development, growth management and investment in municipal infrastructure and other related municipal programs and services.

MDP's also inform lower order statutory plans such as Area Structure Plans (ASP's) and non-statutory plans that further help guide municipal decisions around land, infrastructure and how community services are provided.

Further to the above, the Town's MDP also describes a vision and establishes goals and policy directions that are intended to reflect the priorities established by Council in the Town's Strategic Plan 2026-2029.

How is the MDP connected to the Strategic Plan?

The Town's MDP is a living document and continually seeks to focus and refocus when necessary on the strategic priority areas and desired outcomes that have been identified by Council, which have most recently been identified in Town's Strategic Plan 2026-2029. These strategic priority areas help identify key issues and concepts that the MDP must address from a land use planning and economic development perspective - all with the Town's future growth and development in mind. These are also the "pillars" that help inform and guide updates and modernizations to the Town's MDP.

Is the Town required to have an MDP?

Yes. All municipalities in the Province of Alberta are required by statute law under Section 632 of the Municipal Government Act, RSA 2000, cM-26 (MGA) to have an MDP.

Does the Town have an MDP right now?

Yes. The Town’s current MDP was adopted on April 16, 2014, when Bylaw #14-03 was enacted by Council.

Who uses the Town's MDP?

The Town’s MDP is intended to be used by everyone with each potential user having a range of possible interests and contexts as it relates to the future growth and development of the Town. With this in mind, the Town's MDP is intended to create an important connection and understanding of expectations between Council, local communities consisting of both residents and businesses, multiple stakeholder groups, as well as the Town’s corporate and business administration processes.

What does an MDP have to include?

As a statutory plan, the MDP must address certain matters and issues as described under Section 632(3) of the MGA. The MGA also provides for additional flexibility on the inclusion of other topic areas that an MDP may address under Section 632(3) of the MGA. For more information on these matters and issues, please scroll up in this accordion file and click on "The Technical Stuff" for a detailed list that can otherwise be found in the MGA itself.

How often is the Town's MDP reviewed and updated?

While statute law in Alberta does not prescribe a mandatory review schedule for MDP's, it is widely recognized as best practice to undertake a comprehensive review every five-to-ten years. In Alberta, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs recommends that a municipality review and/or update their MDP approximately every 5-10 years to keep it current with emerging trends, land use changes affecting the municipality, and/or changes in provincial legislation.

Currently, Section 5.3.4 of the Town's MDP sets out that a review will occur every five years as required.

Relevant MDP Documents

Newest Materials (Listed Chronologically):

Background Materials (Listed Alphabetically):