About a week after the City of Edmonton released plans to annex two large parcels of land south of the city, the county in charge of the land in question is publicly responding to the city’s plan.

Leduc County Mayor John Whaley released an open letter to residents and businesses, addressing “misinformation circulating about the City of Edmonton’s annexation proposal”, and clearing up the position the county has on the proposal.

“It is important for residents, business owners and industry partners to know that Leduc County council has ratepayer’s best interests in mind,” Whaley said in a press release. “We are not prepared to hand over vital portions of Leduc County and council will challenge the City of Edmonton throughout the process.”

The letter states no negotiations between the city and the county on the annexation plans had taken place – the county had agreed to “explore how [the] City of Edmonton and Leduc County could grow together through a letter of intent dated April 11, 2012”.

According to the mayor, the county’s own growth plans were delayed by that process, while the city put together its annexation bid.

On March 5, the City of Edmonton went public with plans to annex a total of about 15,000 hectares of land, responding to a reported demand for residential and business growth in that part of the city, and to make it easier to build an LRT line to the airport in the future.

The county said officials had requested an inventory of the City of Edmonton’s remaining land supply – but that request had been denied. According to existing public documents, the county said the city has sufficient land available, but “It appears the City of Edmonton wants to curtail growth in the region unless it occurs within its limits.”

The mayor said in the letter, that the annexation “boxes in” the county, and prevents future growth options – which Whaley said would negatively impact the county, Capital Region, and province.

The letter goes on to outline the existing plans the county had for the area, and policies it had to protect agriculture in the area.

Included in the city’s annexation plans, is taking over the Edmonton International Airport – however, the county said the airport doesn’t need to be in Edmonton. The letter stated the county has identified lands for a transit corridor in the future, and is working with the Capital Region Board on the regional transit.

In addition, the letter states tax revenue from the airport is already split between the county, City of Edmonton and the province – with the county reportedly only collecting about 23 percent of its annual tax revenue since 2002.

The mayor said the county “has the right and obligation to negotiate with [the] City of Edmonton in accordance with the Municipal Government Act,” and officials will work to “ensure the outcome of this process is a better result for ratepayers than what is currently being proposed by the City of Edmonton.”

Back on March 5, the city said this annexation was the first time the city has proposed expansion in about three decades – and the city hasn’t needed to grow beyond its limits in that time, but some areas need more room to expand.

The open letter from Leduc County is also expected to appear in area newspapers by the end of the week.