‘Designated industrial zone’ would require a lot of land

By COLLIN GALLANT on April 2, 2022.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

The provincial government is making a hard sell that creating a “designated industrial zone” could be a success in southeast Alberta to draw major industrial projects, but Medicine Hat officials who see some benefits are still mapping out the road ahead.

The city’s land office, which just rezoned 1,000 acres for heavy industrial development, told the News qualifying as a provincial DIZ might require much more land and involve complex agreements with neighbouring towns.

Currently they are concentrating on municipal plans to bring in a carbon-capture system, which they say would create its own gravity to attract investment.

The United Conservative 2019 election platform included creating zones where land-use, infrastructure and related items, like environmental approvals, would be in place to speed up new industrial projects.

It was also mentioned a half dozen times in remarks made Premier Jason Kenney during a visit to the Hat this week, where he said his government has put its economic development plan for the province “on steroids.”

The new provincial budget sets aside money for such developments, and would complete Indigenous and environmental consultations and align standards to ease site selection.

“We’d love to see a designated industrial zone in the southeast benefitting from that legislation,” Kenney told a local Chamber of Commerce event.

“You try to create a situation where a company can come in and ‘plug and play,’ rather than spending two years running through regulations.

“We’re keen to work with municipalities on this.”

Eric Van Enk, head of the city’s Invest Medicine Hat office, told the News on Friday his office may adopt some of the provincial “DIZ” strategy when bringing the new NW Industrial park to market.

But, he said, that land mass represents could be enough to fill demand for industrial land for 25 years, and it’s the city’s belief any new plant investment will put a crucial premium on green energy or access to carbon sequestration.

“If you de-risk carbon capture, then you’ve essentially created a DIZ,” said Van Enk. “A (provincially approved) DIZ may need to be much, much larger than what we have envisioned.”

He said the city will strongly consider aligning local bylaws with provincial standards so interested companies have a smoother regulatory process, but at present is confident in also staying with current forecasts for land sales, stated as a 25-year build-out.

Six quarter sections in the northwest park would be enough to site a half dozen major plants, though much smaller parcels are envisioned.

Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA Michaela Frey told the audience she’s been selling the concept to local governments in the region as a potential economic diversification driver.

Mayor Linnsie Clark attended the premier’s event and told reporters the city is in contact with the province in terms of general industrial strategy, but not specifically on gaining “designated” status.

“We’ve been in contact with various members of the provincial government on our CCUS and hydrogen projects,” she said. “We see those as very important for business retention and expansion in our community.”

The city’s NW Industrial Park plan passed planning hurdles last month despite objections from clubs leasing land in the northern sections of the base, and which lead to new talks on long-term leases.

Van Enk told the News his office’s focus is on finalizing the initial stages in the southeast corner of the park (furthest from club facilities), and meeting deadlines to progress the hydrogen application.

The most recent amendments to the Tri-Municipal Development Plan, signed with Redcliff and Cypress County in 2020, outline the potential for a “joint planning area” north of Redcliff, and northeast of the NW Industrial Park.

Two DIZ areas exist already in Alberta, with one in the Industrial Heartland near Edmonton where municipalities have a working agreement to arrange land and resources to help a huge cluster of industrial facilities further develop.

That region was part of an initial carbon-capture hub announcement Thursday when the province said it is working with six proposals for regional open access.

The city is expected to formally apply for carbon storage pore space in May.

The other is near Grande Prairie, where recently departed Medicine Hat city manager Bob Nicolay held the same title four years ago when the groundwork was done to create a jointly developed industrial cluster with two adjoining counties.

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