Next week – beginning Monday, December 8 – the Sullivan hearing will move from the Heritage Inn to the Highwood Memorial Centre in High River. The change in venue is meant to accommodate the additional hearing days scheduled by the Board, whose goal is to wrap up regulatory proceedings before the end of the year. Information on the revised hearing dates has been added to our site.
So no one is confused… the Google map to the new hearing location lists the Highwood at 128 5th Avenue SW although the Highwood has defined its position as 128 5th Avenue W for the past 59 years. Despite this geographic discrepancy, I’ve been told there is only one Highwood Memorial Centre in High River and the location you’ll find on the map is correct!
Of note this week: On Wednesday, December 3 the Alberta government released it's final Land Use Framework. Although much of what was proposed in the Draft (released in May 2008) has remained the same, there were a few notable changes including:
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The addition of a new region – the Red Deer Region – to better address southern Alberta’s significant population, its number and size of municipalities, and the diversity of its landscapes;
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New names for the planning regions; now named for the major watersheds to better reflect integrated land-use and watershed planning. As a result, the proposed Sullivan development now falls in the South Saskatchewan Region.
The Alberta government is expected to announce more details on the LUF early in 2009, including the framework’s implementation plan and the terms of reference for regional plans. In the interim, the province has identified five key priorities in the framework – one that includes the completion of the South Saskatchewan Plan by 2010. You can find the final LUF, along with the public survey and feedback report here.
Our position on the LUF has not changed. We believe that the application that has been submitted to the Board meets or exceeds current regulatory requirements and should be weighed on its merits.
As the LUF unfolds, the company is committed to working with the Provincial Land Use Secretariat and the broad range of interest groups that will make up the South Saskatchewan Regional Council in the development of a South Saskatchewan Regional Plan. Petro-Canada will comply with any relevant regulatory requirements as established by the final LUF.
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