Moving Past the Tipping Point – Alberta’s New Land Use System

1. Alberta’s New Land Use System Moving Past the Tipping Point – Alberta’s New Land Use System ELC Webinar December 9, 2009 Cindy Chiasson Executive Director

2. Alberta’s New Land Use System About the ELC • A registered charitable organization incorporated in 1982 • Our mission: To ensure that laws, policies and legal processes protect the environment.

3. Alberta’s New Land Use System About the ELC • Our ends: • Enactment and effective enforcement of sound environmental laws and policies. • Effective and informed public participation in environmental regulatory, law-making and decision-making processes.

4. Alberta’s New Land Use System

5. Alberta’s New Land Use System Roots of the LUF initiative Approach to land & resource management • multiple use • project-by-project approval, incrementalism • impacts of individual projects mitigated • cumulative effects difficult to deal with

6. Alberta’s New Land Use System Roots of the LUF initiative Approach to land & resource management • anti-planning or laissez-faire approach to planning • patchwork of policy and legal requirements • “silo” based decision-making

7. Alberta’s New Land Use System What Albertans want… • stronger provincial leadership • better policy integration & coordination (land, water & air) • greater clarity re: roles & responsibilities of land use decision-makers • improved conflict resolution processes

8. Alberta’s New Land Use System What Albertans want… • better land conservation & stewardship • improved land use information sharing • increased consultation & opportunities for public, stakeholders & aboriginal peoples to influence land use policies & decisions

9. Alberta’s New Land Use System

10. Alberta’s New Land Use System Structure – regional planning Regional Plan Regional Advisory Council Terms of Reference Land Use Secretariat Sub-regional Plan Public Cabinet Approved Plan Cabinet has complete control over the plan, ToR, and amendments.

11. Alberta’s New Land Use System Regulatory hierarchy Alberta Land Stewardship Act Amends 27 other acts Other Acts If there is a conflict? “Super Regulation” Regional Plan Other Regulations

12. Alberta’s New Land Use System Enforcement Day to day decisions of municipalities and government ALSA amends other acts Decisions must comply with Regional Plan Non-compliance Existing appeal processes Complaint to LUS Commissioner

13. Alberta’s New Land Use System Regulations & tools • Top down completely – discretion lies with Cabinet • Challenges to court are limited • Regulation making powers are broad • Include appeal mechanisms for public lands

14. Alberta’s New Land Use System Regulations & tools • Conservation tools enabled • Conservation directive • Conservation easements – expanded to agricultural land • Conservation offsets • Tradable Development Credit

15. Alberta’s New Land Use System ELC’s assessment of ALSA • Our vision: dedicated land use planning legislation • single, binding Act • administered by Cabinet & a separate administrative secretariat • all gov’t depts must conform • set out decision-making process for land use planning • assign planning responsibilities, create a clear decision-making hierarchy & require local land use decisions to conform to regional plans

16. Alberta’s New Land Use System ELC’s assessment of ALSA Our assessment: ALSA meets the basic elements • more needed re: decision-making process for land use planning • much is still to be determined by Cabinet: • Regional Advisory Councils • creation of the planning process • development and amendment of regional plans • content of regional plans

17. Alberta’s New Land Use System Development of regional plans • Current (done 2010): • Lower Athabasca • South Saskatchewan • Stage 2 (done 2011): • North Saskatchewan • Upper Athabasca • Stage 3 (done 2012): • Red Deer • Upper Peace • Lower Peace

18. Alberta’s New Land Use System Development of regional plans CABINET • 3 stages of public input • Initial info sessions • Draft vision for plan • Draft plan • Aboriginal consultation separate SECRETARIAT & PROJECT TEAM REGIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

19. Regional profile Policy context Regional vision statement Regional outcomes Objectives & goals Strategies, actions, approaches Monitoring & reporting 50 year min. planning horizon 5-10 year effectiveness Alberta’s New Land Use System Elements of regional plans

20. Alberta’s New Land Use System Lower Athabasca plan scope • Primary focus: economic development (oil sands; timber) • Land conservation – boreal forest • Water & air (NOx & SO2) thresholds • Aboriginal traditional use

21. Alberta’s New Land Use System South Saskatchewan plan scope • Population growth • Water supply & demand • Landscape conservation (Eastern slopes) • Economic growth (agriculture; energy; forestry; recreation & tourism) • Thresholds: surface water quantity & quality; air quality • Aboriginal traditional use • Major multi-use corridors

22. Alberta’s New Land Use System What else to watch for… • Interim/transitional issues • Implementation • How will province-wide agencies manage?

23. Alberta’s New Land Use System Support the ELC • Registered charity – donations receive a tax receipt • 100% of donations fund ELC public programs https://www.elc.ab.ca/pages/SupportELC/default.aspx CRA Registration Number - 11890 0679 RR0001

24. Alberta’s New Land Use System Questions? Phone: 780-424-5099 or 1-800-661-4238 E-mail: elc@elc.ab.ca or cchiasson@elc.ab.ca Web: www.elc.ab.ca Blog: http://environmentallawcentre.wordpress.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/environmentallawcentre Twitter: https://twitter.com/ELC_Alberta To sign up for e-mail updates, visit: http://www.elc.ab.ca/pages/home/Notification.aspx.