Land-use Framework FAQs

The Land-use Framework is a comprehensive approach to planning to better manage public and private lands and natural resources to achieve Alberta’s long-term economic, environmental and social goals.

The framework provides a blueprint for land-use management and decision-making that addresses the growth that has occurred in Alberta over the past several years.

Alberta has enjoyed record prosperity. But this prosperity has brought new challenges and responsibilities. Today’s rapid growth in population and economic activity is placing considerable pressure on Alberta’s landscapes.

Oil and gas, forestry and mining, agriculture and recreation, housing and infrastructure - all compete to use the land.

The Land-use Framework creates a better balance among economic, social and environmental interests in the land. It is a significant step forward in the evolution of land-use planning and decision-making in Alberta.

Completing the Land-use Framework will allow government to:

  • Move forward with priorities identified by Albertans
  • Provide greater certainty for Albertans and industry in planning and carrying out activities on the land
  • Develop regional plans that will:
    • Integrate provincial policies at the regional level
    • Set out regional land-use objectives
    • Provide direction and context for land-use decision-making in the region
    • Reflect the uniqueness of the landscape and priorities of each region within a planning context

The Alberta government is committed to building regional plans with the participation of the people who live and work within the regions.

Public information and consultation sessions within communities throughout the province are being held to encourage input and solicit feedback from Albertans.

Further, for each land-use region, a Regional Advisory Council (RAC) is being established to provide advice to government on the development of regional plans.

The RACs will consist of individuals representing the range of interests within each region, and who are able to appreciate the broad interest of the region, including:

  • Provincial and municipal governments
  • Industry
  • Non-governmental groups
  • Aboriginal communities

Government will provide terms of reference for each regional plan outlining the specific expectations and requirements for each plan.

The Regional Advisory Councils will exist for the amount of time needed to develop the regional plans.

Once the regional plan has been developed and approved by Cabinet, the Land Use Secretariat and the appropriate government agencies will address issues related to the implementation of the regional plans.

Regional plans may be reviewed every five years – with plan updates and reports on implementation – and a review will occur every 10 years.

This approach allows the regional plans to be updated and reflect new policies and initiatives adopted by the province.

The seven Land-use Framework planning regions are:

  • Lower Peace
  • Upper Peace
  • Lower Athabasca
  • Upper Athabasca
  • North Saskatchewan
  • Red Deer Region
  • South Saskatchewan

The regions are named after their major watersheds to show that land and watershed planning will be integrated.

To find out which region you are in, look at the regional map found on the website, or in a copy of the Land-use Framework final report, available at:

The province will use a cumulative effects approach that looks at the potential impacts of all activities within a region, rather than at the impact of development on a project-by-project basis.

Cumulative effects management determines the capacity of the environment and ecosystem to support the effects of all activities, and identifies thresholds for the air, land, water and biodiversity.

The Alberta government has primary responsibility for making decisions that meet the economic, environmental and social goals of all Albertans. However, in the face of increasing pressures and conflicts, better alignment is needed between provincial and municipal-level plans.

Alberta’s strong tradition of local government and local authority will continue.

The Land-use Framework leaves local decision-making authority with the same officials who currently exercise it, but in the future, these decisions will have to be aligned with provincial policy set out in the regional plans.

One of the guiding principles of the framework is that land-use decisions will respect the laws of property ownership.

Municipalities already have the ability to control the subdivision of land under the Municipal Government Act. Landowners can only subdivide with municipal approval. Regional plans will set the context for these decisions in the future and could identify areas where the fragmentation and the loss of agricultural land needs to be addressed.

The government will support the development of market-based incentives to encourage private landowners to help achieve conservation goals. This will provide a way for private landowners to receive some monetary benefits for the ecological goods on their land.

Existing contractual commitments will be honoured. However, planning decisions on future development will need to be aligned with provincial policies and directions. Moving forward requires some decisions.

The Land-use Framework identifies the need to work extensively with members of recreational communities and other key stakeholders to develop a comprehensive recreational strategy to better manage the growing recreational pressures and activities on public land.

The goal of this strategy is to ensure Albertans continue to have a wide variety of recreation opportunities on public lands, while at the same time minimizing the impact on our natural environment, reducing conflicts and increasing cooperation.

The government has established a goal of completing the seven regional plans described in the Framework by the end of 2012.

The Land-use Framework sets out seven key strategies for improving land-use decision-making in Alberta.

  • Develop seven regional plans based on seven new land-use regions
  • Create a Land Use Secretariat and establish a Regional Advisory Council for each region
  • Use a cumulative effects management approach at the regional level to manage the impacts of development on land, water and air
  • Develop a strategy for conservation and stewardship on private and public lands
  • Promote efficient use of land to reduce the footprint of human activities on Alberta’s landscape
  • Establish an information, monitoring and knowledge system to contribute to continuous improvement of land-use planning and decision-making
  • Include Aboriginal peoples in land-use planning

The Land-use Framework also identified five immediate priorities in the framework. These priorities are:

The Land-use Framework final report can be accessed on the website at:

Who do I talk to if I need more information?

 

Posted: July 30, 2009