We can interpret it as a smooth move and some clever calculation regarding the future.
The RM of Estevan is wanting to make changes to their zoning bylaw because, quite frankly, they need to.
To do that though, requires an official community plan according to the rules set out by the provincial government. So to that end, the RM has hired a consultant to help lead them down a proper path and within the next few months some more difficult decisions will have to be made. But right now, we see where they are at least following the recommended procedures and adding a whole swack of transparency to the process. Keeping the community planning and zoning ideas in front of the local ratepayers and general public, including the citizens of their neighbouring city of Estevan, is to be commended.
It would have been easy for the RM council to slip behind closed doors, make some decisions with their contracted community planner in tow, and then show up with a finished product to foist upon an unsuspecting public. That would have been the easy way.
The RM, and we hope by extrapolation,the City of Estevan when the time comes, chose the more awkward but also correct route in arriving at zoning changes. It will be a more difficult route since each step will be open for public scrutiny and criticism and we expect that these councillors and administration may end up in more than one shouting match with irate property owners along the way. But maybe, with a little luck, those moments will be avoided if the path they continue to follow is one of honesty and full disclosure.
The planners have already delightfully discovered that the RM of Estevan and the City of Estevan have forged a solid working relationship that is rarely found in other jurisdictions. With the two principals sharing workloads, revenues, expenses and responsibilities ... the planners can help plot the RM's future direction without the restrictions of wondering what the neighbouring city's administration is thinking. They already know what the thinking is and have calibrated that into their equations thanks to the spirit of co-operation, not confrontation.
No doubt the RM's master plan will provide ideas that perhaps can be adopted by Estevan's governing and administrative teams.
The RM decided clearer directions were required since they have seen new issues arise due to the complexities that surfaced around the proposed heavy truck bypass. This planning will not only explain and clarify the current situations, but also set the stage for future development.
The proactive process could, and should, provide a template for the next 10 years and the RM, with a huge mix of residential, agricultural, commercial, industrial, recreational and manufacturing concerns to consider ... is doing it with progressive steps that will help it avoid many pitfalls.
Naturally the end results won't be perfect, nothing of this magnitude ever is, but we must applaud the process and the honest effort to do it the right way.
