County discusses future development of wallboard manufacturing plant

Wheatland County Council has approved first reading on Bylaw 2023-08, being a bylaw for the purpose of amending the Goldfinch Industrial Area Structure Plan.

A report was brought forward to council by administration, May 16, for the regular meeting. County administration had also recommended scheduling a public hearing for the bylaw for public input.

The purpose of the application, as presented to council, is to amend the structure plan by revising the development concept and transportation network, and appending the CGC Wallboard Manufacturing Area Concept Plan in order to facilitate the development of a wallboard manufacturing facility.

Consideration of the Bylaw 2023-08 was advised to be taken concurrently with Bylaw 2023-10, which proposes to redesignate land indicated as desirable for development from Agricultural General to Intensive Industrial District.

“The applicant is proposing a 200,000 square foot wallboard manufacturing facility, a raw product processing mill, and an enclosed raw product storage facility on the site,” said Taylor Felds, who presented on behalf of the county planning and development services team. “The applicant provided a summary of their engagement process, mitigation plan and technical studies in support of their application that all demonstrate that the site is suitable and can accommodate the wallboard manufacturing facility as proposed.”

Confirmation of the applicant’s findings will be provided by the county’s third-party engineers and will be detailed in the public hearing report. According to Felds, county staff do not have any technical concerns regarding the servicing or access to the land.

Regarding site access, the proposed development will be accessible via a two-way entrance off Township Road 222 and is proposed to feature internal parking, shipping and loading areas.

A traffic impact assessment was submitted in support of the application, which indicated a maximum of 119 two-way trips during weekdays at peak hours and 71 two-way trips during weekends at peak hours.

Affected intersections will still operate acceptably in existing and future conditions with or without development-generated traffic.

“The manufacturing plant aligns with the county’s economic goals and policies, (by) which it aims to create 100 permanent, fulltime jobs and will benefit from the access via highway 24 and the CP Rail to move their goods and services,” added Felds.

Council also approved first reading of the amendment to Bylaw 2023-10 as requested by administration.

A public hearing for Bylaw 2023-08 has been scheduled to take place in County Council chambers June 20 to allow for input from county ratepayers.

John Watson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Strathmore Times