The City of North Battleford is going ahead with a boundary alteration that will allow them to annex 350 acres around the Saskatchewan Hospital site.
The portion of land in question was set aside as a Crown colony years ago and was never incorporated into the city limits. The land is currently located in the Rural Municipality of North Battleford, and the intention is to alter the boundary with the R.M. so that this portion of land can be incorporated into the city.
According to a city memo, most of the land consists of the previous hospital site, while the remainder is River Valley land that is unsuitable for development. A major reason for the annexation is because several city assets are within the area including the F.E. Holliday water treatment plant, the city’s boat launch, as well as the city’s reservoirs.
No budget impact is anticipated by the annexation. The city has been in contact with the R.M. of North Battleford regarding the land in question; it’s expected they will vote on the annexation as well at one of their upcoming meetings.
An application would then need to be submitted to the province to proceed. That application process is expected to take place over the next year.
City Planner Ryan Mackrell told council on Monday there is still considerable process they must go through, including notifying property owners, having a public hearing, and then looking at how this land would be treated under the city’s zoning bylaw and official community plan once it comes into their boundary.
“The province wants all that done ahead of time so they know what we’re doing,” said Mackrell. The intention is for the boundary alteration to ultimately take effect Aug. 1, 2021, after the census is done.
The resolution to proceed carried unanimously at Monday’s council meeting.
