City Council is moving forward with plans to annex two large parcels of land south of the city, in an effort to continue expansion.
City administration was directed by City Council Tuesday to begin the process that would see the section of land directly south of Edmonton under city control.
Two parcels of land were outlined in the adjustment – one is the corridor along the west side of the QEII Highway, including the Edmonton International Airport, the other would extend the city’s southern boundary to Township Road 510, near the northern boundary of the Town of Beaumont, east of the QEII highway.
The proposed annexation doesn’t include land in the Leduc County Nisku Industrial area.
The city said notices of intent to move forward with the two annexation applications have been sent to the Municipal Government Board of the Government of Alberta, Leduc County, and the Town of Beaumont.
According to the city, City of Edmonton and Leduc County officials have been discussing the matter since April 2012.
The processes are expected to take between two and five years to complete.
If they’re successful, it’s estimated the annexations would add about 15,000 hectares of land to the city.
The city said the added land would accommodate anticipated demand for growth of residential and business areas in the city – and would make it easier to extend the LRT to the airport in the future.
The annexation will be done through procedure laid out in the Municipal Government Act.
City officials said this is the first time the city has annexed land in 30 years – in comparison, Calgary has undertaken 16 annexations.
The city said planning ahead has meant the city hasn’t needed to annex surrounding land for three decades, but some areas need more room to expand.
With files from David Ewasuk
