annex
The land being acquired by the City of Swift Current is shown within the hashmarked border (Photo: Google Maps)

The City of Swift Current is annexing more land, but this time, there doesn't appear to be much objection.

At their meeting on Monday, Council approved a resolution to alter the city's boundaries to include a quarter-section of land from the Rural Municipality of Swift Current located at SE 23-15-14 W3, which is along 11th Ave SW from the west end of Marston Street to north of the west end of Gladstone Street.

The City, however, did not initiate the annexation. The quarter-section is being brought into the boundaries at the request of a developer.

"They were able to come to an agreement with the RM and the City, so we got a complimentary resolution, the quarter of land will be brought into the city, and at some point in the future, it will be developed," said City Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Tim Marcus. "It was at the developer's request which is a little bit different, but not out of the ordinary. It takes place in other municipalities throughout the province, it's just a first for Swift Current."

The city and developer have agreed to provide tax loss compensation to the RM for the complimentary resolution totalling $20,000. The city is paying a sum representative of five times the 2012 tax value, which amounts to $6198.40, and the developer is putting up the remaining $13,801.60.

"Certainly, we thank the RM for being co-operative in that manner," Marcus added. "It's always nice to come to that type of agreement and move ahead without having to do it contentiously."

The City will now go through a process under the provincial Cities Act where they will publish a notice of their intention to annex the land to inform the affected municipality and school divisions, and send the required information to affected home owners.

Coincidentally, Council also passed a bylaw to amend the zoning map to include the new city boundaries altered in a separate resolution, which included recently-annexed land along the Trans-Canada Highway to Lac Pelletier Trail. The bylaw also zoned the undeveloped lands in that annexation as UR - Urban Reserve District, a municipal designation to ensure that those lands are not prematurely developed or subdivided.