• Intermunicipal Development Plans. These documents will be more critical under the new MGA and required wherever municipalities have boundaries. Note that IDPs can be established between several municipalities (not just two) , when there are common interests.

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• Municipal Development Plans. MDPs provide long term planning direction and will be required by all municipalities under the new MGA, not just those with populations over 3,500. They can be specially tailored for smaller municipalities to help with costs.

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• Land Use Bylaws. These day-to-day regulatory documents form the basis for your subdivision and development decisions and should be updated as necessary to keep them current.

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• Area Structure Plans. Considering future servicing and subdivision of undeveloped land? ASPs help consolidate municipal and developer thinking to lay the foundations for growth.

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• Area Redevelopment Plans. These are worthwhile when the municipality wants to manage redevelopment of an area over the long term; for instance, an older downtown. They also allow for fundraising considerations.

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• Subdivision and Development Policies. Not all planning and development practises are spelled out in bylaws. Documenting municipal policies and practises will be critical under the new MGA, and Birch Consulting can help make sure your municipality has clear and effective planning and development policies.

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• Municipal Reserves, School Reserves, Environmental Reserves, and Conservation Reserves. Municipalities need policies to guide their decisions when establishing these various reserves. Conservation reserves are a new option under the modernized MGA and will provide additional  land use opportunities.

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• Off-site Levies. These need to be justifiable, and engineering input is required as well as land use expertise. Birch Consulting can work with your municipal engineers or our engineering associates to address your needs. Municipalities should be aware that the new MGA opens up opportunities for updated thinking on these important cost recovery tools.

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• Public Participation. This is critical to virtually any land use planning process. Input can be gathered through surveys, customized workshops and open houses which should be tailored to the specific community and the public participation objectives. Assistance can also be provided to help you with the more formal public hearing process required for adoption of many planning documents.