The City of North Battleford aims to annex lands at the former Saskatchewan Hospital site area where it has several city assets in the vicinity. (Submitted photo/City of North Battleford) 

By Angela Brown

Acquiring Land

City starts process to acquire lands at former Sask. Hospital site

May 1, 2020 | 2:57 PM

The City of North Battleford is taking the first steps to acquire lands at the former Saskatchewan Hospital area, south of the city. The property is currently in the RM of North Battleford. There is no cost to the city to annex the land as it is currently owned by the Crown and is tax exempt.

The city wants to obtain the land because it has city assets on the property, such as the F.E. Holliday Water Treatment Plant, a boat launch, and water reservoir.

“There are some assets there we need to protect, so this is just starting the process,” city planner Ryan Mackrell said at this week’s council’s meeting. “There is still quite a bit of process we have to go through.”

The city will need to apply to the province to alter the city and RM of North Battleford No. 437 boundary to include the former Crown Colony land legally into the city municipality, as outlined in the proposed annexation plan.

Council passed a resolution to get the process underway.

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The property is about 350 acres, with most of the land consisting of the previous Saskatchewan Hospital site and the remainder is river valley that is unsuitable for development. According to the city, the land is not suitable for rural use; it is non arable and only holds value for development which would require servicing and city services.

Mackrell said the reason for the proposal is to incorporate several city assets into the city municipality, and to “amend the boundary in a logical sense along the river, eliminating land-locked jurisdictional boundaries inside the city.”

The city is issuing a public notice of its proposal to alter the boundary to notify the property owner, which is the Government of Saskatchewan, as the property is owned by a Crown corporation. The city will also need to hold a public hearing on the matter.

Mackrell said the city has already been in contact with the RM of North Battleford, which will need to pass a similar resolution at an upcoming RM council meeting.

Mackrell said the entire process is expected to take about a year, with Aug. 1, 2021 set as the proposed start date for the annexation to take effect.

The annexation will not impact the process for the next Canadian census that will take place prior, in May 2021.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow