County of Stettler approves new subdivision lots near Nevis

Local Journalism Initiative
·3 min read

The County of Stettler Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) approved a subdivision application that resulted in a total of five lots on agricultural land near the Hamlet of Nevis. The decision was made at the April 24 MPC board meeting.

The MPC is comprised of members of county council and chaired by Coun. James Nibourg.

Director of Planning and Development Craig Teal presented a Parkland Community Planning Services report to councillors including a subdivision application from numbered company 1647718 Alberta Ltd. for its property described at the meeting as the south half 6-39-21-W4M Lot OT Plan 3493MC, further described as 269.1 acres in total.

The actual location of the land in question became a subject of discussion as it’s touched by two primary highways and rail lines creating a number of smaller agricultural pieces. The Hamlet of Nevis is located roughly 15 minutes west of the Town of Stettler.

“The subject parcels are located 0.27 km southeast of the Hamlet of Nevis,” stated Teal’s report to council. “The subject parcels have Hwy. 12 and railway tracks running through them, and abut Hwy. 11 to the south. The subject parcels are currently used as agricultural land with no residences constructed on them.”

The application further described the property in question as Lot 1 Block 1, Lot 1 Block 1 (second piece), Lot 2 Block 2, Lot 3 Block 2 and Lot 4 Block 2.

Teal explained the property owner, with this subdivision, would simplify the title situation for all these small pieces of property.

“This one’s a little bit out of the normal compared to our usual subdivision applications,” said Teal during his verbal presentation.

“There’s no real intent to create any country residential (acreages). It’s an issue of rationalizing the property lines relative to the way the land has been used for crop land or pasture land over the many years. Basically, each field would have its own title.”

As Teal described the application he noted there were virtually no concerns about it, including from a nearby landowner who requested information.

Alberta Transportation stated the ministry had no concerns but noted if approved the separate lots, if developed in the future, may require new road access. Teal pointed out the primary highways have nothing to do with the County of Stettler.

A large portion of the presentation included municipal reserve (MR) calculations and the county’s Rural Development Fund. Municipal reserve is land set aside for public ownership while the fund collects a fee when land is removed from agricultural production; that money is then used for agricultural projects elsewhere in the County of Stettler.

Staff recommended no MR land be collected but instead a fee of $3,226.25 be requested from the property owner. As for the fund, since the farmland remains in production the fund doesn’t apply here. “...These (parcels) are all intended to be agricultural parcels in the long term,” said Teal.

During discussion board members asked if Lot 1 Block 2, a long, triangular parcel in the centre, had a building site on it suitable for development in the future. Teal responded, “The short answer is yes,” adding setbacks are met by one building site on that parcel.

Chair Nibourg observed that, if approved, this subdivision would create “...a number of sellable parcels.” Nibourg then observed that if the application was approved, “All of these would be prime to sell as acreages now going forward.”

Coun. Les Stulberg stated he felt it could be inferred that, because of all the roads and rail lines dividing this land, the agricultural production was already hampered. “It’s not really a pleasure to farm such little pieces,” said Stulberg.

Board members also discussed a defunct rail line on the land in question and the fact that it appears abandoned and overgrown.

It was also mentioned that Coun. Justin Stevens, who represents this area, had no concerns about this application.

Board members unanimously approved the subdivision application.

Stu Salkeld, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, East Central Alberta Review

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Couple says goodbye to beloved home on Quebec coast after erosion put safety at risk

    Joanne Audet and Marcel Breton say they have lived an extraordinary life by the sea, but the coastal erosion along the shores of Maria, Que., has become too much for the couple."We were hit by three enormous tides within a year. You can't stay here anymore. At home, it was scary. It was rumbling, it shook. The water hits your windows. You become surrounded by water everywhere," Audet said. "We no longer had a choice. We had to leave."Their residence is among eight homes threatened by imminent co

  • Northern Lights to be visible again soon, space forecasters say

    Dazzling displays lit up the night sky last week with rare sightings across the country.

  • 6 Hybrid Vehicles To Stay Away From Buying

    Not all hybrid cars are created equal. While some models offer excellent fuel efficiency, reliability and performance, others fall short. With so many options, it can be tough to separate the good...

  • Snow leopard gives birth to 2 'little snowballs' at Toronto Zoo

    A snow leopard at the Toronto Zoo gave birth to two cubs this week, the Toronto Zoo has announced.Three-year-old Jita delivered the cubs after a few hours of labour. Her pregnancy had lasted 97 days. The first cub was born at about 7:45 p.m. Monday, while the second cub was born early Tuesday. Nine-year-old Pemba sired the cubs.The zoo said members of the public cannot yet view the "little snowballs" and their mom, but it will provide updates in the coming days and weeks about how and when the p

  • Grey-headed chickadee listed as endangered in May

    The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) updated the status of twelve Canadian animals this month, and it included the Grey-headed Chickadee among the animals newly considered "endangered."Dr. Louise Blight is the co-chair of the COSEWIC advisory committee on birds. She said Grey-headed Chickadees live at the edge of the treeline in the Pacific Northwest, and were historically common near Old Crow. The bird is so rare that it is hard to estimate its population, she

  • 'Ozzy Osbourne' no match for stubborn Colorado bear in neighborhood tree

    Wildlife officials said the bear had gotten in the trash and found food. When the rangers arrived, the bear was already in a tree.

  • 4 downy chicks born to Moncton pair of rooftop peregrine falcons

    Moncton has welcomed some new feathery friends. Two peregrine falcons that have been living in a nesting box atop the Assumption Building in the city for the last 13 years have just hatched four chicks. Earlier this year, the Magnetic Hill Zoo and Nature Moncton partnered to set up a livestream on the pair's nesting box, so viewers waited anxiously for about a month, closely watching the eggs. Jill Marvin, the director of the Magnetic Hill Zoo, said she first noticed something unusual when she c

  • One week ago, the northern lights stunned America. When will it happen again?

    Even though experts say conditions are primed for more aurora shows over the next few years, predicting exactly when and where is a challenge.

  • Residents of Canadian oil town menaced by wildfire can return home

    Residents of the Canadian oil town threatened by an out-of-control wildfire can return home, authorities said Saturday, even as they warned the community will have to contend with the blaze for the foreseeable future. Thousands of residents of Fort McMurray, in northern Alberta, had been ordered to leave their homes earlier this month. "With the current and forecast weather conditions, specifically the amount of rain that has fallen on the fire, combined with continued fire suppression and community protection efforts, I am pleased to announce it is now safe for us to end the current evacuation and allow people to return to their homes," said Sandy Bowman, mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo that includes Fort McMurray.

  • Warm and muggy tease of summer sparks a storm risk over Ontario

    A tropical humid, muggy airmass moves into southern Ontario over the next 3 days with the threat for non-severe thunderstorms in the forecast. More details with Meteorologist Melinda Singh.

  • Bear alert in Japan after man found dead and police officers mauled

    People in northeastern Japan have been warned to stay vigilant after a man was found dead with gash wounds and police officers were left with serious injuries. Two officers were attacked on Saturday in Kazuno city, Akita prefecture, while recovering the missing man's body, Japanese media said. A police helicopter and cars are involved in the search for the bears.

  • Squirrels caused 80 outages in Toronto last year: hydro officials

    Squirrels caused about 80 power outages in Toronto in 2023 after coming into contact with power equipment, Toronto Hydro said, after a squirrel-related outage in the city Wednesday affected about 6,500 people. Racoons caused 13 outages in 2023, whilst birds caused about 30 outages in the same year, Toronto Hydro said in an email. "While each power outage is unique to its circumstances, outages due to wildlife interference…are resolved on average in under two hours," spokesperson Daniel McNeil sa

  • Severe flooding wreaks havoc across northern Europe

    Severe flooding caused by heavy rainfall has inundated Voeren and Liège in Belgium, as well as parts of France and Germany.View on euronews

  • Eyes on the fries: Alberta snatches potato crown from P.E.I.

    This story is from this week's episode of the new CBC podcast Good Question, P.E.I. Listen here.Good Question, P.E.I. is available on the CBC Listen app, or wherever you get your podcasts.Prince Edward Island no longer produces more potatoes than any other Canadian province.Yes, you read that correctly. We're No. 2. Alberta, the Prairie province known for its thick cuts of red meat, is now the potato king of Canada. But just by a skin.According to the most recent report by Agriculture and Agri-F

  • Evacuation order lifted for residents of Fort McMurray

    Residents who were evacuated from communities in Fort McMurray, Alta., are being allowed to return home Saturday. While a nearby wildfire is still classified as out of control, officials say crews have made significant progress on the blaze. Erik Bay has the details.

  • Fort McMurray evacuees anxious to return home, weather is on their side

    Connor O'Donovan speaks with evacuees in Edmonton and provides an update for when they can likely return to their homes.

  • Heavy rains trigger floods in parts of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands

    Heavy rains caused flooding in parts of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands overnight into Saturday, swamping streets and buildings and sparking evacuations. In the southwestern German state of Saarland, streets were deep underwater and images on social media showed emergency workers carrying local residents to safety in boats. State capital Saarbruecken was hard hit while German daily Bild reported that a breach in a dyke in the town of Quierschied led to a power station in the area being shut

  • B.C. mayor warns against videos of properties destroyed by fire outside Fort Nelson

    FORT NELSON, B.C. — The mayor of a northeast British Columbia community threatened by wildfires is warning people who stayed behind in the evacuation zone to stay on their properties and not share images of fire destruction on social media. Northern Rockies Regional Municipality Mayor Rob Fraser said it was "insensitive" and "unconscionable" that images of properties destroyed by the Parker Lake wildfire outside Fort Nelson had been shared before owners were told of the damage by authorities. Fr

  • More than a thousand fish die in pollution incident

    Hundreds of brown trout are confirmed killed, with anglers fearing salmon were also affected.

  • Brazil’s floods smashed through barriers designed to keep them out, trapping water in for weeks — and exposing social woes

    Despite economic growth that has lifted millions of people out of poverty, a number of social problems, including violent crime, still persist.