The County’s previous Municipal Development Plan (County Plan) set out a number of action items, one being the development of an aggregate extraction policy and management plan.
In 2015, Council approved a Terms of Reference for Administration to begin developing the Aggregate Resource Plan (ARP). This project resulted in a draft ARP document; however the document was never adopted by Council as it did not sufficiently reconcile the interests of key stakeholders across the County. The project was ultimately cancelled in April 2019.
On April 11, 2023, Council set out a new Terms of Reference, establishing a project to develop a new ARP with a particular focus on improving stakeholder input. The ARP is intended to ensure that aggregate development is appropriately located and developed in a responsible manner that promotes sustainability and minimizes impacts upon residents, adjacent land uses, and the environment.
Timeline
Phase 1 - Purpose
The purpose of the Committee was to provide recommendations on the creation of an Aggregate Resource Plan to Council. Council did not delegate any decision-making ability upon the Committee; however, the Committee attempted to:
- Agree upon principles and approaches to guide the Aggregate Resource Plan, which reconcile the interests of residents, landowners, aggregate operators, environmental stakeholders, and the County.
- On topics where the Committee could not achieve agreement, they identified areas of particular importance that need to be addressed.
- Identified gaps in the previous Aggregate Resource Plan draft that should be addressed in any new document.
- Suggested areas of improvement that are required to the previous Aggregate Resource Plan draft.
- Proposed desired public and stakeholder engagement methods for the Aggregate Resource Plan project (e.g., frequency, type, location, and timing of engagement).
Committee Members
The Committee was formed with the following members:
- Committee Chair: Barbara McNeil
- Residential Committee Members: Gerald Bietz & John Weatherill
- Agricultural Committee Members: Hazel George & Tom Foss
- Aggregate Industry Committee Members: Dale Soetaert & Monty McNair
Result
In spring 2024, the Stakeholder Advisory Committee released their final recommendations and report that detailed six recommendations where consensus among the members could be made and ten items of non-consensus. View the final Stakeholder Advisory Committee report [PDF/399KB].
Following the release of the Stakeholder Advisory Committee’s final report, Administration conducted engagement to understand how the public perceived the results of the report. View the ‘What we Heard Summary Report [PDF/6.6MB].’
Phase 2 and 3
In October 2024, Administration presented a revised Terms of Reference to council that set out the objectives and deliverables that would be pursued in accordance with the Stakeholder Advisory Committee’s final report and results of the subsequent public engagement results. This new Terms of Reference was adopted by Council.
Between October 2024 and June 2025, Administration drafted the identified deliverables and conducted further public engagement. The drafted deliverables included:
- Aggregate Development Performance Standards
- Aggregate Site Monitoring Bylaw
- Amendments to the Municipal Development Plan and Land Use Bylaw to provide specific policies and regulations relating to aggregate extraction and/or processing. As part of the amendments to the Municipal Development Plan, locational criteria were included to provide buffer areas where extraction would not be possible around provincial parks and residential lands that lie within approved area structure plans.
On July 17, 2025, Administration presented the deliverables of the ARP project to Council. After deliberations, Council approved all components of the project.
Phase 4
Administration intends to return to Council in Q4 2025 to present a report on how to approach the items of non-consensus included within the Stakeholder Advisory Committee’s final report.