THE ALBERTA GAZETTE, DECEMBER 14, 1985

MUNICIPAL DISTRICT OF PINCHER CREEK NO. 9

Order No. 17320 File No. 609(A)1

Before: The Local Authorities Board for the Province of Alberta IN THE MATTER OF TH? "Municipal Government Act":

AND IN THE MATTER OF an application by the Council of the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9, in the Province of Alberta, to annex certain territory lying immediately adjacent thereto and thereby its separation from The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass.

Pursuant to Section 20 of the Municipal Government Act, the Council of the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No, 9, in the Province of Alberta, petitioned the Local Authorities Board for the Province of Alberta, for the annexation to the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9 of all that territory described as follows:

SECTION TEN (lo), SECTfON ELEVEN (111, WEST HALF OF SECTION FOUKTEEN (14), SECTION FIFlEEN (15) ,BEAST HALF OF SECTION TWENTY-TWO (221, SECTION TWENTY-THREE (23). EAST HALF OF SECTION TWENTY-SEVEN (27) AND SECTION THIRTY-FOUR (341, ALL WITHIN TOWNSHIP SEVEN (71, RANGE THKEE (3), WEST OF THE FIFTH MERIDIAN.

SECTION THREE (3) AND EAST HALF OF SECTION FOUR (41, ALL WITHIN TOWNSHIP EIGHT (a), RANGE THREE (3), WEST OF THE FIFTH MERIDIAN.

ALL GOVERNMENT ROAD ALLOWANCES INTERVENING AND ADJOINING THE ABOVE DESCRIBED TERRITORY.

THE ABOVE DESCRIBED LANDS CONTAIN TWO THOUSAND SEVENTY-ONE AND NINETY-NINE HUNDREDTHS (2,071.99) HECTARES (5,120 ACRES), MORE OR LESS.

(hereinafter called "the said territory") which lies immediately adjacent to the Municipal District, and thereby its separation from The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, and in respect to which the Board held a public hearing into the matter on May 10, 1985.

Representing the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9 were Reeve 11. Pharis and K.E. Phillips, Municipal Secretary.

Mayor Dr. J. Irwin and J. Kapalka, Municipal Administrator, appeared 011 behalf of The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass.

E. Nicholson and W. Fisher, Planners, presented the position of the Oldman-' River Regional Planning Commission.

Ovners and leasehold owners A. and E. Cervo, C.H. Milvain, I.. Block, L. Green and M. Dziedzic were present and made submissions. A presentation was made on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Crowsnest School Division No. 63 by Trustee W. Price and W. Terriff, Superintendent.

F. Grills and G. Lind, Assessors with the Assesement Services Ilivision of Alberta Municipal Affairs, appeared to give information in respect to assessments and taxes.

On January 1, 1979, the five coal mining communities of Hillcrest, Bellevue, Frank, Blairmore and Coleman, together with portions of Improvement Uistrict No. 5 which included thirteen present and former hamlets were amalgamated by The Crowsnest Pass Mbnicipal Unification Act into a single municipality. While "The Crowsnest Pass Amalgamation Study" conducted prior to amalgamation by Alberta Municipal Affairs recommended that the municipality contain some 78 square miles of territory, the Unification Act reduced the total area to approximately 60 square miles. This total area has eince been increased by 3,108 hectare8 (7,680 acres) through annexation by Order in Council No. 14/79 4064 ated January 4, 1979, and Board Order No. 16334 dated May 19, 1983. None of he lands annexed by Board Order No. 16334 involved the said territory or the ast sector of the Municipality.

The Crowsnest Pass Amalgamation Study" contains the following suggestion:

"With regard to boundaries it is suggested that all urban communities and industrially developed land be included, together with such additional undeveloped areas which would accommodate an approximate doubling of population.''

e study does not provide bhe criteria or fationale used in deciding why the said territory was included in the Municipality. It is noted, in Board Order No. 16334, that The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in applying to annex a similar type of non urban territory, suggested that as the Municipality ' provided municipal, health, educational and other services to such lands, the lands should be contributing to the cost of these services.

The Oldman River Regional Planning Commission submitted the following as the main reasons why Alberta Municipal Affairs proposed such a large area €or the new Municipality of Crowsnest Pass: - much of the Crowsnest Pass proper is undevelopable for conventional urban land uses,

- The population, though mainly co8centrated in a number of urban communities, was nevertheless scattered over a large area, and

- The Pass proper's urban communities were assessment poor. Most of the area's existing or anticipated industrial assessment was located in the outlying areas."

With respect to the present boundaries of The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, the Oldman River Regional Planning Cowission also submitted the following:

"It is noteworthy that the present boundaries of the Crowenest Pass are not a carryover from the early part of the century. They have been determined very recently on the basis of extensive study and discussion. As will be seen later however, a minor adjustment or some "fine tuning" of the present boundaries along Highway 3 may have some merit."

Prior to amalgamation, all the said territory was within Improvement District No. 5 and is now located in a strip of a varying width along the east boundary of The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass. The major portion of the said territory lies to the north of the Crowsnest River Valley and Highway No, 3 from where it rises, through various mountain terrains from an elevation of 4,000 feet to 6,000 feet. In the northern portion of the said territory are located electrical transmission lines, the interprovincial twin Nova gas lines and is where a 500 kv interprovincial electrical transmission line is now under construction. The said territory, containing Class 6 and 7 soils, is mainly used, where possible and practical, for summer pasture. However, the steep topography, heavy forest cover and lack of water and access limits even summer grazing in much of the said territory.

The Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9 advised that the application for annexation was instigated at the request of some 13 landowners and leaseholders within the said terfitory. Approximately 15 112 quarter sections of the said territory are Crown owned and leased to ranchers in the area. The remaining 14 112 quarter sections are owned by 9 landowners including four quarter sections owned by three coal companies. Only one rancher, E. Cervo, resides within the said territory and, owning approximately 6 quarter sections, is the largest private landowner in the said territory.

4065 THE ALBERTA GAZETTE, DECEMBER 14, 1985

The Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9 submitted that as the owners and leaseholders of lands within the said territory are engaged in agricultural activities, the Municipal District, being a rural municipality, i8 in a better position to service their requirements than The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass. Services the Municipal District could provide include weed and livestock disease control and soil conservation, It was also submitted that the area is more accessiblafrom the rural municipality through its system of existing roads and that property taxes on the various lands would be lower if situated in the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9.

The owners and leasehold owners of land within the said territory distinguished the said territory from the rest of The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass by reason of it being on the east slope of the Livingstone Range. It was pointed out that they are all engaged in agricultural activities whereas the Crowaneat Pass area is mainly oriented to the resource extraction industries. As a result, the owners mainly travel to the Town of Pincher Creek for such services as seed cleaning, farm machinery dealerships and veterinary services. There are complaints that, as farmers and ranchers, they do not receive the same services they would receive if in a rural municipality such as the programs to control the warble fly, predators and pests. It was noted that the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9 provided its residents with snow plow&g of roads and school bussing. Further, it is estimated that the property taxes would be reduced to less than half of what is now paid to the Municipality. Concern was expressed that urban oriented by-laws may restrict some agricultural activities such as the keeping of livestock or the use of firearms. Proportionally, it is estimated there are only 200 rural residents of the total population of approximately 7,500 persons in the Municipality. This, it was claimed, made it difficult for the rural residents to pressure Council to respond to their needs.

The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass opposed the separation of the said territory from its jurisdiction and its annexation to the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9. This objection, it was submitted, is based on history, topography of the area, land use, ownership, development, urban fringe control and because annexation would deteriorate the Municipality's tax base. When incorporated, the enabling legislation provided assessment consideration for farmlands, which still apply. Because of the rugged mountainous terrain, the said territory has only limited agricultural uses. A number of historical sites are situated within the said territory such as the Old Passburg Townsite, Leitch Collieries Historical Site and a cemetery. All of the historical sites are closely related to the Municipality and, it was submitted, should remain in the Municipality. The said territory also contains a number of improvements, such as the twin Nova gas pipeline, the 138 kv and 25 kv TransAlta Utilities transmission lines and a 500 kv transmission line now under construction. The Municipality has a much lower per capita assessment than has the Municipal District and, it was submitted, the retention of this assessment and tax base is essential for the Municipality's viability. Further, the Municipality provided the said territory with recreational facilities, hospital services, senior citizen facilities, ambulance, police, fire and rescue services and the said territory should contribute to the maintenance and operation of such services.

A very comprehensive submission was submitted by the Oldman River Regional Planning Commission, which extensively reviewed the matter. A number of points are made in the report, including the following:

"There are a few bona fide land use considerations involved in this annexation proposal. The maid issue is taxes, insofar as most of the landowners and leaseholders in the annexation area believe that their taxes are too high in the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass. Consequently, they would prefer to be annexed into the M.D. of Pincher Creek."

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THE ALBERTA GAZETTE, DECEMBER 14, 1985

It.. .The historic and cultural features in Section 15.. .are closely linked to the Pass and should remain in its boundaries... the Alberta government is developing the Crowsnest Pass as a tourist deet inat ion point .'I

"Because of its location in the Crowsnest River Valley, the W 112 of Section 14 and the northern part of Section 11 forms a natural extension of the agricultural lands to the east ...annexation of (these) lands...could be seen as 'fine tuning' the present municipal boundaries without adversely affecting the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass o? challenging the rationale for its recently established boundar ies .'I

The Oldman River River Planning Commission, at its meeting of April 4, 1985, considered the matter and passed the following resolution:

"That the ORRPC not support the proposed annexation of land from the Crowsnest Pass to the M.D. of Pincher Creek."

The Crowsnest Pass School Division No. 63, as successor to the Board of Trustees for the Passburg School District No. 2300, claimed an interest in a portion of the Southwest Quarter of Section 15 which forms a part of the said territory. The Division opposed annexation of the said territory to the Muliicipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9, stating it "...cannot afford to lose one student or one dollar of assessment..." Stress was made of the potential of the said territory ta supportP a much higher population on small land holdings. It is anticipated that such a population will demand and support additional services in the community, services that will also be available to residents outside the Municipality. Further, it was suggested by the Division that the complaints raised by the landowners and leaseholders are political problems that should be worked out politically.

By memoranda to the Board dated March 25 and April 9, 1985, respectively, Alberta Transportation and Alberta Agriculture stated that their Departments I'have no objections" to the annexation of the said territory to the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9.

Alberta Environment by letter to the Board dated April 10, 1985, also advised that the Department had no objection to the proposal.

Alberta Energy and Natural Resources, by a letter to the Board dated May 9, 1985, advised:

"This department has no concerns with the annexation proposal provided our mandate in the management of Public Land and Fish and Wildlife resources is maintained."

The Board, having considered the submissione presented at the hearing, has reached the following conclusions:

1. That The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is unique as a municipal form in that it not only attempts to bring a number of urban municipalities into a single jurisdiction, but also to rationalize the geographic land form of .' the region. Consideration haa also been given to the natural resources of the region and the need to provide a sufficient tax base for the Municipality to carry out its mandate. As the Municipality was only incorporated in 1979 and contains a number of urban communities with conflicting demands and historical differences, it is to be appreciated that Council's greatest emphasis hae been on solving such urban problems. It would appear that there has been a lack of communication or emphasis on rural problems within the Municipality and it is anticipated that this hearing will provide a catalyst on which such a dialogue may be commenced.

4067 THE ALBERTA GAZETTE, DECEMBER 14, 1985

2. That in respect to the rural lands within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, besides providing a tax base primarily from the electrical and gas transmission lines, also provide a potential for growth in population and development. Future development will probably be in the form of small holdings responding to the alpine setting of the region, or in response to the tourist potential of the area. Accordingly, the said territory does have potential for uses other than agriculture. Further, the agricultural capability of most of the said territory is limited due to poor soil and extreme topography. The exception is the West Half of Section 14 and a portion of Section 11 which have uses that are similar to the agricultural development in the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9 and should be annexed thereto. - 3. That the remaining landowners and leaseholders do not reside within the territory and, holding other lands in a rural municipality, probably, receive the rural municipal services. The said territory, being mainly alpine in character, must be held to be other than agricultural land except in the broadest sense.

4. That the application by the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9 to annex into its jurisdiction the said territory and thereby its separation from The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass should be GRANTED IN PART.

THEREFORE, subject to the Lieutenant Governor in Council approving this Order, or prescribing conditions that the Order is subject to and approving the Order subject to those conditions, or varying the Order and approving the Order as varied, IT IS ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:8

I. That there be annexed to the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9, , in the Province of Alberta, and thereupon be separated from The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass the following described territory:

THE WEST HALF OF SECTION FOURTEEN (14) , TOWNSHIP SEVEN (7). RANGE THREE (31, WEST OF THE FIFTH MERiDIAN AND THAT EAST WEST GOVERNMENT ROAD ALLOWANCE LYING SOUTHERLY THEREOF. EXCEPTING THEREOUT THAT NORTH SOUTH GOVERNMENT ROAD ALLOWANCE LYING WESTERLY THEREOF.

ALL THAT PORTION OF THE NORTH WEST QUARTER OF SECTION ELEVEN (111, TOWNSHIP SEVEN (71, RANGE THREE (31, WEST OF THE FIFTH MERIDIAN WHICH LIES TO THE NORTHWEST OF THE LEFT BANK OF THE CROWSNEST RIVER AS SHOWN ON THE TOWNSHIP PLAN APPROVED AT EDMONTON 25 JULY 1953. EXCEPTING THEREOUT THAT NORTH SOUTH GOVERNMENT ROAD ALLOWANCE LYING WESTERLY THEREOF.

THE ABOVE DESCRIBED TERRITORY CONTAINS ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-TWO AND THIRTY-SIX HUNDREDTHS (162.36) HECTARES (401.20 ACRES) , MORE OR LESS

(A sketch showing the general location of the annexed lands is attached as Schedule "A,'.)

11. That any taxes owing to The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass as at December 31, 1985, in respect of the aforementioned properties shall transfer to and become payable to the Municipal District of Pincher -' Creek No, 9 together with any lawful penalties and costa levied thereon in respect of any such taxes; however, upon the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9 collecting any or all of such taxes, penalties or costs, such collection shall forthwith be paid by the Municipal District to The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass.

111. That the assessor for the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9 shall, for taxation purposes in the year 1986, reassess the annexed lends and assessable improvements thereon, which are by this Order

4068 F, I THE ALBERTA GAZETTE, DECEMBER 14, 1985

annexed to the Municipal District of Pinrher Creek No. 9 so that the assessment thereof shall be fair and equitable with other lands and assessable improvements in the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9, and the provisions of the Municipal Taxation Act regarding the assessment roll shell mutatis mutandis apply to such assessment.

IV. That the Chief Provincial Assessor, appointed pursuant to the provisions of the Municipalities Assessment and Equalization Act, shall, for taxation or grant purposes commencing in the year 1986, reassess or revalue, as the case may be, all properties that are assessable or subject to valuatiw under the terms of the Electric Power and Pipe Line Assessment Act and the Municipal and Provincial Properties Valuation Act, and which lie within the areas that are by this Order annexed to the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9, so that the assessment or valuation shall be fair and equitable with properties of a similar nature.

V. That the effective date of this Order is the Thirty-first (31st) day of December, 1985.

DATED and signed at the City of Edmonton, in the Province of Alberta, this Twenty-seventh day of May, 1985.

LOCAL AUTHORITIES BOARD x CERTIFIED A TRUE COPY

(SCD.) c. I. SHELLEY CHAIRMAN

(SGD.) J. A. HAMMOND MEMBER THE ALBERTA GAZETTE, DECEMBER 14, 1985 SCHEDULE q' A SKETCH SHOWING THE GENERAL LOCATION OF THE AREAS AFFECTED BY BOAIID ORDER No. 17320 EFFECTIVE DATE: DECEMBER 31,1985

AREA ANNEXED

I

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