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Preamble:
WHEREAS the Alberta Land Stewardship Act authorizes the creation of a conservation easement for purposes outlined in Section 29 of the Act, and
WHEREAS a conservation easement registers a permanent interest in land by a qualified organization which permanently limits the use of the land that is subject to the easement, and
WHEREAS pursuant to the Alberta Land Stewardship Act, municipal councils are to receive a notification of planned conservation easements prior to registration, and
WHEREAS registrants are not required to undertake any prior notification, negotiation or consultation with the municipality regarding the current state, planned maintenance or future requirements of transportation infrastructure affected by the conservation easement including roads, culverts or local road bridges, and
WHEREAS the purchase of conservation easements is partially funded by the Government of Alberta, and
WHEREAS pursuant to the Municipal Government Act, the title to all roads in a municipality are vested in the Crown in Right of Alberta, and
WHEREAS pursuant to the Municipal Government Act, a municipality has the direction, control and management of all roads within the municipality, and
WHEREAS in the absence of consultation with municipalities, many matters concerning existing roads, culverts and bridges are not addressed including unregistered accesses and historical roads, planned infrastructure development and maintenance requiring additional right of way or temporary workspace; and
WHEREAS this lack of consultation often results in municipalities being required to undertake a process of expropriation to complete public infrastructure projects, many of which are funded by the Government of Alberta, and
Operative Clause:
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Rural Municipalities of Alberta advocate to the Government of Alberta to amend the Conservation Easement Registration Regulation to require qualified organizations to conduct a consultation with municipalities for the purpose of examining potential impacts to municipal infrastructure arising from the registration of a conservation easement.
Member Background:
Part 3 Division 2 of the Alberta Land Stewardship Act authorizes the establishment of a conservation easement by ‘qualified organization’ for several reasons including protection, conservation and enhancement for the purpose of protecting, conserving and enhancing the environment, for scenic or esthetic values; for agricultural purposes; for recreation uses, open space use, environmental education use or for research and scientific studies of natural ecosystems.
Conservation easements register an interest in land by a qualified organization to authorize or limit and restrict certain uses. Conservation easements for conservation purposes are highly restrictive and do not permit any land disturbance including road widening, backsloping or temporary workspace agreements for the construction or rehabilitation of roads, culverts and local road bridges.
Any road work planned by a municipality would require the municipality to undertake an expropriation of the land, a costly and time-consuming process.
Additionally, there are many ranches that are currently utilizing easements or even historical roads which are unregistered that cross titled land. Under the present system used by organizations including the Nature Conservancy of Canada, conservation easements are taken on lands with these types of accesses that will prohibit any maintenance on the access roads into adjoining properties without any consultation or consideration of the impact to neighbouring property owners.
As outlined in the Conservation Easement Registration Regulation, municipalities receive notification of conservation easements prior to registration in the form of a document labeled as “Form 1 – Notice Prior to Registration”. This notification is received by municipalities with no prior notification or consultation as none is currently required by the legislation.
RMA Background:
7-23S: Revision of the Alberta Land Stewardship Act to provide for an Expiration Date in Conservation Easement Agreements
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Rural Municipalities of Alberta request that the Government of Alberta revise the Alberta Land Stewardship Act to require that an expiration date, not exceeding 40 years, be included in conservation easement agreements to ensure future landowners can influence, and benefit from, land use decisions.
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