Municipal Development Plan

The MD of Smoky River is developing a Municipal Development Plan (MDP)!

What is a Municipal Development Plan?

The MDP is a long-range strategic document intended to guide the growth and development of a municipality into the future.

It identifies the vision, principles, goals and objectives that a municipality has set for itself on a long-range timeline. Typical MDPs reach approximately 20 years into the future, and may have goals and objectives that are achievable over a 1 to 5 year period, 6 to 10 years, and 11 or more years.

Best practice is to review MDPs every five years to ensure they remain relevant and up-to-date with the needs and wants of the community. The MD of Smoky River has not updated the community’s long-range plan since 2005.

What is in an MDP?

MDPs generally encompass a range of topic areas that may be considered the building blocks of a municipality.

It must address several areas including:

• Future land use and development;
• Transportation systems;
• Intermunicipal planning; and
• Municipal services and facilities.

The MDP may also address:

• Environmental issues;
• Economic constraints; and
• Financial resources.