WHEREAS Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation has developed Policy TCE-TS 509 regarding who pays for highway development dated October 10, 2007; and WHEREAS Resolution 9-07F adopted at the Fall 2007 Convention of Alberta Association of Municipal District and Counties regarding a municipalitys mandate respecting highways are not being considered in this policy;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Government of Alberta to reconsider Policy TCE-TS 509 and that a policy paper on the implications associated with the application of the policy and position on who pays for highway development be established.

The County of Vermilion River sponsored a resolution at the AAMDC 2007 Fall Convention, which was accepted by the assembly, that dealt with Provincial Highway Development / Policy which asked for provincial planning in cooperation with municipalities and that the provincial government be responsible for provincial highway upgrades to accommodate development. This was in response to recent requirements by Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation for some developers to pay for 100% of the costs to improve a provincial highway when their development occurred whether or not the TIA indicated it was required immediately or not. The concern was with: consistency / certainty throughout the province on what was required. Provincial highways are seen as a provincial responsibility as the traffic generated outside the municipality would be a greater factor to the highway upgrades needed than the local business. There is also no consideration for costs and impacts of traffic being diverted off of the highways onto improved local roads. Associated with this resolution matter is the new AIT policy TCE-TS 509 attached, which was signed on October 10, 2007, for the AIT staff to follow without any municipality understanding of the change in approach, scope and application of this policy so we could develop the tools that we would need, such as offsite levy bylaws, in advance of implementation of this policy. Additional urban municipalities are also impacted by this policy so they need to determine how much their development affect provincial highways.

Resolution 3-07F: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties encourage the Government of Alberta to increase the Provincial Highway Construction and Rehabilitation base budgets, and encourage the Government of Alberta to make the ongoing commitment to ensure that this essential network of roads is properly maintained and upgraded. Resolution 9-07F: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urges the Government of Alberta to: 1. provide increased resources to Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation to allow for proper planning and management in areas where provincial highway construction is or will be occurring, to ensure that Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation and municipalities can meet their short and long term planning goals; and 2. be responsible for upgrading or expansion of provincial highways to accommodate development. Resolution 5-06S: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties review with Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation the manner of exercising their imposition of conditions under Sections 14, 15 and 16 of the Subdivision and Development Regulations.

A policy paper entitled, Building a Highway Network: Who Pays for Highway Improvements as a Result of Development was developed on this issue and accepted by the membership at the Spring 2008 convention. This paper was brought forward to government but the AAMDC did not receive a response from the government on the paper. The paper is now included as a part of the association’s regular advocacy effort to the Minister of Transportation.