Municipal Reserve Evaluation Project Background

Municipal Reserve (MR) is a Provincial requirement and is part of the subdivision process. This is in accordance with the Planning and Development Act, 2007 (PDA, 2007). The rationale for Municipal Reserve is to provide the general public the opportunity for recreational space such as:

• School sites;                                                                                            
• Public parks and recreation spaces;
• Natural areas;
• Public buildings or facilities; and
• Buildings or facilities owned by a charitable corporation;

There are four options to meet the MR requirement but the consideration is ultimately determined by Council:

1. Pay cash in lieu (to Corman Park);
2. Dedicate land (land is titled as MR and owned by Corman Park)
3. Mix of land and cash; and
4. Deferral due to phasing in multi – parcel development;

The Municipality owns all MR parcels and are collected at the time of subdivision. For most subdivision applications in Corman Park, it is not practical or desirable to dedicate land for MR. Therefore, Corman Park relies on aggregated land valuations to determine the cash in lieu amount that the applicant must provide as part of their subdivision requirements. Due to the volume number of subdivision applications received, it would be impractical to get a land valuation for each application. However, if there is a disagreement in the valuation amount between applicant(s) and Municipality, the PDA, 2007 states that the Municipality shall pay an assessor to conduct a land valuation to determine the MR cash in lieu value for that proposed parcel. That valuation that is determined will now be used to calculate cash in lieu. 

In multi – parcel residential development applications, Corman Park prefers the MR requirement to be dedicated as land and integrated within the multi – parcel residential development to provide for recreational opportunities and enhance the amenities in the development. 

For residential purposes the province requires 10% of the land to be dedicated for Municipal Reserve and 5% must be dedicated when land is being subdivided for non-residential purposes. Overall, the decision on whether to accept land dedication or cash in lieu to fulfill MR requirements during subdivision is done on a case-by-case basis, as there is no guiding policy currently in place. Corman Park relies on PDA, 2007 for MR requirements and policy direction. Corman Park’s current practice is generally to accept cash in lieu for single severance residential and multi-parcel commercial or industrial subdivisions.

To stream line the MR requirements and provide guidance to Corman Park Council. Corman Park has chosen to undertake this project study to update the values and create MR policies to guide Council decisions related to MR. This project has been broken into two phases:

Phase 1:

Brunsdon Lawrek will undertake an update of their 2015 valuation study which will reflect current market values for: 

• Agricultural residential parcels in Corman Park and in P4G; and 
• Commercial and industrial lands serviced by potable water located in P4G. 

The following lands will rely on site specific MR valuation during subdivision, and are not included as part of the 2025 MR land valuation update:

• Multi-parcel country residential development in P4G and Corman Park (if MR is taken as cash-in-lieu);
• Commercial and industrial development in Corman Park (outside of P4G); and
• Commercial and Industrial development in Grasswood area that is serviced by Des Nedhe Group. 

Phase 2:

Corman Park is drafting MR Land Dedication Policy to determine when MR should be taken in cash or in dedicated land. A MR Land Dedication Policy will assist Council in determining when to take the appropriate MR requirement. The work may include:

• A vision statement for MR Land Dedication Policy;
• Determination for when Corman Park should accept MR dedication of land or requires cash in lieu;
• Determination for when deferral of MR is acceptable (i.e. as part of the multi-phase subdivision); and
• Minimum application requirements and rationale for developers to “prove-out” any proposed MR land dedication as part of subdivision;

Engagement and Communications Plan:

Communications and engagement with landowners, developers and government stakeholders will be an important component of this project, due to the financial impacts a new MR Land Dedication Policy will present for anyone wishing to subdivide land in Corman Park. Review this webpage for updates and important key dates. 

Municipal Reserve as per Planning and Development Act, 2007

https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/municipal-administration/community-planning-land-use-and-development/lands-for-parks-public-amenities-and-municipal-reserves#5-municipal-reserves

Summary of Previous Municipal Reserve Evaluation Report completed by Brunsdon Lawrek (formerly Brunsdon Junor Johnson Appraisals Ltd.)

In 2015, Corman Park commissioned a land valuation study to determine average land values for MR cash in lieu. Several classifications of land were examined, including:

• General agricultural lands within Corman Park;
• Lands in the former Saskatoon - Corman Park Planning District;
• Lands near urban centers (Dalmeny, Langham, Osler, Warman and Martensville); and
• Land within existing residential subdivisions (Furdale and Grasswood).

No land values were provided for commercial and industrial lands in the former     Saskatoon - Corman Park Planning District or Corman Park. These values were then applied when a subdivision was proposed in these areas. 

Planning Application and Subdivision Servicing Fees Project Background

In 2021 the R.M. of Corman Park contracted Wallace Insights, Firebird Business Consulting and V3 Companies to undertake an update to Corman Park’s planning application fees, subdivision servicing fees and to review the need for a development levy framework. 

• The consultant’s final report was received as information by R.M. Council on June 13^th, 2022.
• The new subdivision servicing fees were approved by R.M. Council at their March 20^th, 2023 meeting. The fees are in effect as of June 1^st, 2023
• The new planning application fees are contained in Planning Fee Bylaw No. 8/23 and are in effect as of June 20^th, 2023. 

Planning Application Fees

As recommended in the consultant report, the R.M. has implemented the new fees that apply to a variety of development permits and planning applications. The fees have been in effect since June 20^th, 2023. See Tables 1 and 2 in FAQ on Planning Fees “Key Links” on the project website. 

Subdivision Servicing Fees

Subdivision servicing fees are enabled under the Act as a financing or cost recovery tool for municipalities to provide ‘off-site infrastructure’, including roadways, potable water, wastewater, drainage and stormwater management and provision of parks and recreation, which directly or indirectly serves a proposed subdivision. ‘Off-site infrastructure’ does not include the ‘on-site’ services that directly serve a subdivision or development such as internal subdivision roads. Subdivision servicing fees are associated with the subdivision of land.  

The R.M.’s subdivision servicing fees were last increased 2014 through the Subdivision Fees Policy PD/002. 

Development Levies

Development levies can be charged when there is no subdivision of land, but the land is being intensified through development. The R.M. does not currently have a development levy framework in place but is evaluating the need for one as recommended in the consultant’s report.