File No. D21/VULC/CO-021
Decision No. LPRT2022/MG0555
This is an appeal to the Land and Property Rights Tribunal (LPRT or Tribunal) from a decision of Vulcan
County DA respecting an application for a development permit affecting NW 12-13-24 W4M. The
hearing was held via videoconference on December 13, 16 and 17, 2021 after notifying interested parties.
OVERVIEW
[1]
This appeal concerns Vulcan County’s (County) refusal of a development application by the
Hutterite Brethren of Summerland for four multi-unit dwellings, a kitchen, a kitchen preparation area, a
church, a school, a kindergarten and a cemetery on a quarter section four miles south and two miles east
of the Village of Carmangay. The proposed uses are discretionary in the Vulcan County Land Use Bylaw
(LUB). The quarter section is also the site of a 2018 Natural Resource Conservation Board (NRCB)
approval of a confined feeding operation (CFO). The proposed development, if approved, would facilitate
the establishment of the Summerland Hutterite Colony (Summerland).
[2]
Summerland appealed the refusal on the basis that the application is consistent with the South
Saskatchewan Regional Plan (SSRP), the Vulcan County Municipal Development (MDP) and the LUB
and does not impact the surrounding farmsteads or the Village of Carmangay. Nearby farm
owners/residents and village residents provided detailed testimony describing the expected impact of the
proposed development and the reasons for their opposition to the application. Expert witnesses provided
reports and testimony primarily related to the SSRP, the MDP and the LUB on behalf of each of the
parties.
[3]
The Tribunal approved the application with the 14 conditions that were recommended by the
County should the development be approved. The Tribunal concluded that the application was consistent
with the relevant provisions of the SSRP, and the MDP. The proposed uses do not require any relaxation
of the LUB development standards, and have minimal or no impact on the surrounding area, its residents,
or on Carmangay. The LPRT concluded the Landowners’ concerns are almost entirely related to the
potential impact of the NRCB-approved CFO. The LPRT has no jurisdiction to hear an appeal of the
NRCB approval of the CFO.
REASONS APPEAL HEARD BY LPRT INSTEAD OF SDAB
[4]
The appeal was filed with the LPRT instead of the local subdivision and development appeal
board (SDAB) because, s. 685(2.1)(a) of the Act and s. 2 of the Subdivision and Development Appeal
Regulation directs development appeals to the LPRT when the land that is the subject of the application is
the subject of a license, permit, approval or other authorization granted by the NRCB, Energy Resources
Conservation Board, Alberta Energy Regulator, Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, Alberta Utilities
Commission or the Minister of Environment and Parks (AEP).
[5]
In this case, the subject land is the subject of approvals granted by the NRCB and by AEP.
PROPOSAL
[6]
To develop four multi-unit dwellings (24 housing units), a kitchen and kitchen preparation area, a
school, a kindergarten, a church, and a cemetery on NE and NW 12-13-24 W4M in Vulcan County.
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