A new bylaw aiming to rescind an old agreement with the County of Wetaskiwin has passed second and third reading at Clearwater County council.

The original agreement titled Clearwater County and County of Wetaskiwin Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP) was put in place following a Municipal Government Act (MGA) order requiring municipalities to have such a plan in place.

According to the Alberta government website, the IDP’s purpose is to provide a coordinated and collaborative framework respecting land use, servicing and transportation on lands adjacent to the boundaries of the respective municipalities.

However, officials say following the enactment of Bill 25: Red Tape Reduction Implementation Act in 2019, the MGA now allows municipalities with shared boundaries to mutually agree that an IDP is unnecessary.

In March 2024, the County of Wetaskiwin made a resolution to move forward with repealing the IDP with Clearwater County as certain officials from both administrations feel the document is not required.

Some of the stated reasons from the County of Wetaskiwin for no longer needing the IDP were that the majority of the land along the shared boundary with Clearwater County is Crown land, with applicable policies already being in place, and the desire to remove layers of bureaucracy.

Director of Planning and Emergency Services, Christine Heggart, says there’s little benefit to keeping the IDP in place, with potential downfalls to keeping it in place being added administrative work between the two counties.

Reeve Michelle Swanson says there are already policies in place through the Intermunicipal Collaboration Frameworks (ICF) to work with neighboring counties.

Second and third reading of Bylaw 1199/24 was passed unanimously by Clearwater County council at the July 23, 2024, regular council meeting.