Richer open house answers questions on new development plan
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The Rural Municipality of Ste Anne hosted an open house in Richer on Oct. 14 to inform locals about its development plan progress and answer questions on land designation requests.
Ste Anne Reeve Richard Pelletier said the open house is part of being transparent with community members about the process.
“We’re trying to really help people understand what are the rules and regulations and that we are there to work with them,” he said, noting that he’s open to seeing what people want.
The rural municipality has a balance for agricultural land, Crown land and residential areas, he said. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more people have moved to the area, which has raised the need to make room for homes but also protect prime agricultural land from development, Pelletier said.
Ste Anne has hired Landmark Planning & Design Inc to lead its development plan changes. One of the firms senior planners Andrei Friesen said Ste Anne’s growth rate of 1.5 percent annually is higher than the provincial average, meaning the rural municipality will need to do more to accommodate that growth. He said that could mean redesignating land for more residential areas or for new growing industries.
“You need industry and commercial uses to support residential growth, and you need residential growth for people to actually live there,” he said.
Friesen is expecting the plan’s first reading before council will happen in the new year.
Ed Belisle lives near Richer and came to get more information on developments in his community.
“You need to have a plan. If you’re going to grow this community, there’s got to be a plan. It’s good that they’re looking into it and considering what the demands are of the area,” he said.
He’s lived in the area for more than 20 years and watched subdivisions pop up and the population boom. While he views the population growth as a benefit for the area, Belisle said services like wastewater and land drainage needs to be improved before more people move in.
When that happens, he expects more people will come.