Intermunicipal Development Plans

An IDP ensures coordinated, long-term growth along a shared municipal boundary while providing assurance of future development goals to residents who live within the plan area. IDPs help communities grow together through:  

• Land use planning and collaboration
• Coordinating growth 
• Transportation connections 
• Infrastructure and servicing coordination
• Environmental protection in boundary areas
• Procedures for resolving disagreements 
• Processes for monitoring and updating the plan 

The completion of an IDP is a new requirement under the Government of Alberta, which requires that all municipalities that share a common boundary adopt an IDP.  

Under the Municipal Government Act, municipalities must provide opportunities for the public to be involved before adopting an IDP.

IDPs do not propose any specific development projects, nor are they triggered by them. Instead, an IDP is a long-range planning document that outlines how lands along the municipal boundary will be developed in the future. 

No, your land's existing land use district is not affected by an IDP. Instead, IDPs involve future development planning and are developed with consideration to existing land-use policies in areas that are already developed.