Like much of Alberta, the population of the city of Leduc — just south of Edmonton — continues to grow at a rapid rate and the municipality’s leaders are now seeking to acquire more land as a result.
In a news release posted to the City of Leduc’s website, city officials said city council has approved the submission of a notice of intent to annex land to the south and southeast of the city.
“Leduc is at a pivotal moment,” Mayor Bob Young said. “We have a responsibility to plan to accommodate growth pressures.
“By making intentional plans based on anticipated growth, we can avoid real-world negative impacts on residents — like higher housing prices or more costly infrastructure and service delivery.”
The notice of intent was approved by city council on Monday, and it was sent to officials with Leduc County, Alberta Municipal Affairs, the Land and Property Rights Tribunal and local authorities allowed to operate or provide services in the City of Leduc.
“Based on an evaluation of land supply, completed in 2023, the City of Leduc may require at least 38 quarter-sections of developable lands currently within the municipal boundary of Leduc County to accommodate Leduc’s projected growth through 2076,” the city said in a news release.
Tanni Doblanko, the mayor of Leduc County, told Global News she was first unofficially alerted by the city of its plans in the fall.
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“Our reaction was we were fairly disappointed,” she said. “Let’s understand each other’s needs and move forward.
The city said it plans to conduct in-depth technical studies and to work closely with the County of Leduc to develop its application to annex more land.
The city also said it plans to consult with landowners in the county as well as with city residents.
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“Working with Leduc County through this process is a priority for the city,” Young said. “We look forward to connecting with county residents, city residents, and other stakeholders to share information and hear their feedback and ideas.
“We’re one of the fastest growing growing municipalities in Alberta. We thought at one time that we had close to 20 years of land for future growth, (but) when we started to take a look at the numbers, we realized that we probably have less than 10 years.
“Planners like to have a 50-year plan.”
Young said that if Leduc’s growth continues at a rapid rate, he fears the city will see land prices increase if there is a shortage of land to build on.
“We’ve had incredible growth,” he said, adding the City of Leduc last annexed land in 2014. “The last census put us at about 36,000. We’re doing a census this year and I think we’re going to hit 40,000.”
Doblanko emphasized the importance of all stakeholders working collaboratively to ensure the best outcome in the process.
“Planning together is always the right approach for everyone involved,” she said, adding she would like the city and county to do a “reset” when it comes to land discussions, and look at the possibility of a “staged annexation.”
“As growth targets are hit by the urban municipality, the county could release that land for development,” she suggested. “And that gives certainty to those landowners, to the developers, to everybody — and the land doesn’t sit stagnant for 20 years.”
Doblanko said that urban sprawl can be expensive because of infrastructure costs.
“How are they densifying? What are their densification plans?” she asked.
Young said the city is committed to infill development and to prioritize that before building on any new land, but said he still believes the annexation is necessary.
“We have over 30 agreements with the county,” he said. “And I think we work really well together.
“Whenever you mention annexation, there’s a little bit of angst, but … I think we can do a really good job and make this annexation really easy and successful.”
Doblanko said the county had eyed some of the land the city would like to annex for potential developments. She noted that the county is also aware of the importance of agricultural land in Leduc County, as well as the areas surrounding Edmonton as a whole.
“It is food-producing land, so for us it’s important,” she said. “Any farmland, I think we need to start looking critically at.
“How do we maintain as much of this land as we can around the city?”
Doblanko said while the timeline of the annexation currently being proposed is “disappointing,” she hopes to have productive discussions with the city about next steps going forward.
The City of Leduc noted that the Alberta government will make the final decision on any annexation plan.
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