The recently approved Area Structure Plans (ASPs) for Grassland, Wandering River and Park Place have been established, but for local residents, the plansí practical future benefits will become clear.
Ryan Park, a private land owner in charge of Park Place and the Flying J Truck Stop and Convenience Centre within Grassland, will be developing land that will be adequate for a trailer park for his employees to stay in, according to the Park Place ASP project manager Frank Florkewich,
Park Place is ideally placed because it will take advantage of Grasslandís strategic placement along the Alberta Energy Corridor, according to Florkewich.
Parkís son-in-law, Jason Biagi, noted they have tentative plans to build a hotel.
According to the Park Place ASP, 4.7 acres of land in total will be dedicated to residential land use, which will accommodate 30 properties to the south of First Avenue South and east of First Street East. The plan says a ìtypical lot in this area will have a minimum of 550 square metresî in regards to single detached dwellings.
Semi-detached and manufactured homes will also have dedicated areas.
Two Athabasca County councillors, Reeve David Yurdiga (Grassland), and Jack Dowhaluk (Wandering River) are confident that while it may not be apparent at the present, the future is bright for ensuring adequate segmentation of land in their respective communities.
Yurdiga said he believes the ASPsí benefits will include public safety, indicating that the strict classification of permitted land use will give residents a peace of mind knowing where industrial land is in relation to their homes.
ìThe significant thing is (residents) really want to know where things are going to be for the future. For any community, youíve got to have a plan and understand where the commercialís going, where you can put industrial,î said Yurdiga.
ASPs also help residents understand that the community will have a structured growth rather than overlapping or conflicting land uses. Everything is well defined, so the community knows where itís headed.
ìYou donít want to have a mixture of everything intertwined, because obviously it doesnít serve anyone well. So with this plan in place, people can say, ëOK, yes, I can develop over here, thereís no heavy, industrial, commercial coming by my place,î said the reeve.
ìAlso, regarding safety: Youíve got a family. I mean, you donít want to be right beside some commercial operation, so you need to plan for the future, for expansion. This allows communities to see where they are going in the future.î
Dowhaluk shared Yurdigaís thoughts on public safety.
He said the Wandering River ASP ìgives (residents) a firm idea of exactly what can happen in the community, where industry can go, where houses can go in the Wandering River area.î
Having defined land uses lined up could attract industry and developers, said Dowhaluk, who added the new regional water line will benefit infrastructure and development.
