February 23 Open House

The City of Camrose hosted the first Municipal Development Plan Open House on Thursday, February 23, 2023, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Jeanne & Peter Lougheed Performing Arts Centre.

The Open House had an incredible turnout of 101 people. Thank you to all the citizens who braved the cold that night to join in the discussion to shape Camrose’s future for the next 25 years!

Thank you also to citizens who provided their thoughts to our first survey: what do you love about Camrose and what is your dream for Camrose. We have received 526 responses which is a fantastic response rate.

Overview of Open House

• Provided details on each stage of updating the Municipal Development Plan.
• Provided an overview of the four phases for public engagement to update the Municipal Development Plan.
• Asked citizens to answer the first survey questions:
  1. What do you love about Camrose?
  2. What is your dream for Camrose?
• You can view all of the posters from the Open House here.

What’s Next

• Next, the Community Advisory Committee will review all of the input from the Open House and the survey responses to help determine the main themes and values expressed from Camrosians.
• The summary of the input will be posted here on Our Camrose. Sign up to receive notifications and project updates under the “Stay Informed” section on the bottom right side of the webpage.

For us to shape our future, we must first envision it! The City of Camrose is updating our vision through a new document – Our Camrose, Shaping the Future. This Municipal Development Plan (MDP) is a visionary plan that will set our course toward ensuring we are a healthy, inclusive, prosperous, and resilient city for ourselves and future generations.

The City’s first Technical Review Committee (TAC) and Community Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting has occurred on January 16th and January 18th. We have members on the CAC with various roles throughout the community.

The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) is a forum for representatives of local community organizations to provide input on the various topics that will be addressed in the MDP such as land use, development, transportation, infrastructure, social and economic development, and the environment.

The mandate for the CAC is to:

• Advise City staff in the development of the MDP;
• Encourage the community to participate in engagement activities;
• Collaborate with staff to ensure stakeholder input is incorporated and to review the information presented by the project team;
• Receive process updates from the project team (consultant and City);
• Inform the project team on the local context, land use and development trends, social, economic and environmental issues, and opportunities relative to Camrose; and
• Provide advice on the preferred direction and updates to the MDP.

Project Background

The City of Camrose is initiating the process of reviewing and rewriting the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) which was last adopted by the Council in August 2011.

The new Camrose MDP will be a city-wide strategic growth plan that illustrates how we use land, move, and improve our economic, social, and environmental well-being. The plan will highlight opportunities for collaboration between local government and the broader community to create a better city for all residents and businesses.

What is a Municipal Development Plan?

A Municipal Development Plan (MDP) is a long-range, statutory document that describes the desired future land use for a community and outlines a high-level plan on how the community is expected to change over time.

In Alberta, the Provincial Government requires that all municipalities adopt an MDP. The requirements for an MDP are outlined in the Municipal Government Act (MGA), which is a piece of legislation that empowers municipalities to shape their communities. The act regulates how municipalities are funded and how governments should govern and plan for growth.

What is the scope of Camrose’s Municipal Development Plan?

The MDP will address challenges, capitalize on opportunities, and provide direction on topics such as future land use patterns, growth management, urban form and design, economic development, diversity and inclusion, recreation, and culture, and more!

The MGA provides the direction of what an MDP must and may address:

What is the process for creating a Municipal Development Plan?

Creating the MDP for Camrose will include a process of in-depth research and engagement. This process includes three major steps:

1. Establishing the future vision for Camrose – What kind of future do we want for our City? What should Camrose look and feel like over the next 20 to 30 years?
2. Creating the plan on how to get there – How will we achieve our vision? How should we approach land use, the economy, transportation, environment, and social aspects of our City to achieve the vision?
3. Creating an implementation plan – What do we need to do? What is required to support the decision we have to make to achieve the community vision?

How can I be involved in creating this plan?

Public engagement and consultation with stakeholders are key components of this project. Throughout the process of rewriting the plan, the city will be inviting citizens, the business community, community organizations, developers, and government agencies to provide input and feedback.

You can get involved by participating in future workshops and open house events. By providing feedback, you are actively helping shape the future of Camrose. To keep up to date on the project, you can visit our website at ourcamrose.ca/mdp

Project Timelines

The timeline for the project is organized into four phases, with anticipated completion in Spring/Summer of 2024.

How can I find out more about this project?

More information about the project can be provided by:

Francisca Fredericks, Long Range Planner

City of Camrose

P: 780-672-4428 E: ffredericks@camrose.ca

This year, the City is embarking on an important project to update the Municipal Development Plan to better reflect the needs of the City and its residents. The City will be working closely with Green Space Alliance (GSA) to assist with the preparation of the new plan.

The Municipal Development Plan (MDP) is an important planning and decision-making tool that outlines the direction and strategies that inform how the City will look, feel, and grow over the next 25 years.

The City will be hosting several engagement and consultation events throughout each phase of the project. These events will be designed to gather input from citizens based on their interests and priorities and use it to inform the MDP project.

Check back here to stay up to date on the latest events.

In order to seek diverse feedback from various internal and external stakeholders, the City is planning to establish the following two committees:

Technical Review Committee

The Technical Review Committee (TRC) will consist of City staff with expertise related to community services and economic development, finance, engineering and infrastructure, emergency services, parks and open spaces, and land use. The TRC will review and advise on technical matters to ensure the MDP is relevant and practical.

Community-led Review Committee

The Community-led Review Committee (CRC) will include a range of community members that demonstrate a commitment to crafting a vision for Camrose and desire to implement that vision. CRC members also represent community groups or are experts in their respective fields. The CRC will provide a community perspective on the content of the community vision and the MDP. The CRC will also provide advise on how to best engage with the City of Camrose.