The concept of extending the boundaries of Grand Forks’ city limits is in very early stages of discussion. A developer made a proposal to City Council at the April 17 Committee-of-the-Whole meeting to add around 95 hectares (235 acres) to the area of the City. At that time, Council adopted a resolution to proceed with work on the proposal.
This is the first step in a long, formal process. Even a final decision from Council to file the request to the Provincial Government for their approval, which is required for a boundary extension to occur, is still months away. City staff presented the timeline at the Committee-of-the-Whole meeting on August 14, and a more comprehensive schedule was provided at the September 11 Regular Meeting.
The next step was completed over the summer when a consultant, paid for by the developer but reporting to the City, was selected to help ensure that proper notifications and consultations were completed as required by provincial legislation.
In September, initial information packages were distributed to residents with properties which would be included in the City’s boundaries should the extension occur. The province requires that, when expanding municipal borders, the resulting area be contiguous and not include “islands” or “peninsulas” of properties which are notched out of the final perimeter. Initial consultations have also been forwarded to area service providers (for example, health, utilities, emergency services, crown agencies, and the regional district) as well as area indigenous communities. Work is being done to ensure that factors including zoning, provision of services, and tax rates, are all addressed and that all options to minimize transitional impacts on affected properties have been considered.
This process will continue with further information provided to all of these parties, and the City has committed to individual conversations with the affected property owners to understand and address concerns about the proposal.
Only when this initial consultation work has been completed, estimated for early to mid-November, will an initial submission be made to the province for their first referral. A response to this referral is expected to take around 90 days, after which the Minister would approve the next step, which is electoral approval – either by referendum or “alternative approval process” (AAP), both of which have specific processes defined in provincial legislation for getting voter assent to proceed. The results of the electoral approval process would then be submitted to the Province again, where Ministerial approval is required for the City’s Letters Patent to be updated to include the new territory.
This is by no means a fast or rushed process, and along the way there will be much information to be distributed to both residents in the immediate area of the proposed boundary extension and all taxpayers in the City, and there will be multiple opportunities for public engagement. Throughout this process, the proposed development will not be a factor in the decision-making process, and nothing specific to the development (for example, development permits) will be approved. At the moment, the specific decisions are limited to expanding the City’s boundary.
All of the documents mentioned are available on the City’s website through the link at the top of the page called “Boundary Extension”, and as new reports are created, they’ll be posted there. I look forward to discussion on the process, and updates can be expected throughout the timeline described above.
Everett Baker is the Mayor of Grand Forks