By Sam Borsato - @BorsatoSam on Twitter

Understanding Lethbridge’s South Saskatchewan Regional Plan Compliance Initiative

Jun 20, 2016 | 4:49 PM

LETHBRIDGE – As part of the project, Lethbridge Council received its second update about the City’s on-going work with the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan (SSRP).

In 2014, it came into effect for all municipalities located within the South Saskatchewan River Basin, outlining cohesive environmental, economic and social values. Each municipality must complete a review and declare it’s compliance with the document to the Government of Alberta by August 31, 2019.

It’s broken down into four different strategies: Efficient Land Use, Environment and Historic Resources, Economy and Tourism Strategy and Relationships. Data collected in these areas will be used to complete the City’s compliance, and aid in updating the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan / Municipal Development Plan (ICSP/MDP).

To date, work is about half way complete in regard to Efficient Land Use and Environment and Historic Resources, on-going with Relationships, and other prep work is just beginning in Economy and Tourism.

The purpose of the Efficient Land Use Strategy is to understand the implications of growth patterns by gathering baseline data and propose strategies for moving forward. The Environment and Historic Resources Strategy looks to better understand the relationship between land use and environmental and historic resources.

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As of now, that work has included finalizing public participation plans, and creating a “task force” to oversee the project.

That “task force” now consists of a Technical Working Group, which has proceeded with in-depth policy review and analysis, data gap analysis and collection, and a PhotoVoice exercise. The Community Liaison Group takes care of project introduction, policy review, the PhotoVoice exercise and open house preparations. Finally, the Aligned Committee ensures all strategies are aligned with other existing committees.

While this may seem like a lot of information to process, Andrew Malcolm, Community Planner, says project leaders are trying to ensure Lethbridge residents understand the process.

“Planning in general is a very broad topic, with lots of jargon that not everybody understands… So, we’ve tried to bring it down to a regular resident’s level, and what it means to them. We are trying to reach out to the community, and bring them along step-by-step so they can see the whole process.”

The plan from this point, is to further open the conversation with residents with broader engagement opportunities, begin in-depth work on the Economy and Tourism and Relationship Strategies, and compile data findings relevant to the ICSP/MDP update.

Further information on all areas of the SSRP and the City’s continued involvement, can be found here: www.lethbridge.ca/ssrp.