If municipalities are confident that existing IDPs meet new MGA requirements, they may be submitted as part of an ICF prior to March 31, 2020.
The deadline for submitting intermunicipal collaboration frameworks (ICFs) and intermunicipal development plans (IDPs) to the Government of Alberta is March 31, 2020. As municipalities move forward in developing ICFs and IDPs with their municipal neighbours, RMA has received questions from members related to whether an existing IDP between two municipalities must be reviewed and approved by Municipal Affairs prior to the 2020 deadline, or whether the municipalities can jointly agree to maintain the existing IDP before reviewing beyond 2020, and instead focus on developing an ICF.
According to Municipal Affairs, municipalities may submit existing IDPs as part of their ICF, but before doing so, must ensure that the IDPs meet all requirements set out in section 631 of the Municipal Government Act. If the IDP does not meet all requirements in section 631, it must be amended to do so prior to the March 31, 2020 deadline, so it is important that municipalities measure existing IDPs against the MGA requirements prior to submitting. In either case, an IDP (whether existing or new) must be submitted as part of an ICF prior to March 31, 2020.
Enquiries may be directed to:
Wyatt Skovron
Policy Analyst
wyatt@RMAlberta.com
Tasha Blumenthal
Director of External Relations & Advocacy
tasha@RMAlberta.com