McLennan News McLennan prepares for significant growth. Kevin Laliberte: Express Staff. April 19, 2006 The sale of lots within the Town of McLennan is rapidly turning into a board game of Monopoly with a myriad of interested buyers rolling the dice at the opportunity to scoop up property in the community. "We have pending sales in place for the purchase of every available residential and commercial lot in the municipality," says town chief administrative officer Tammy Chavis. "The interest which is being shown for our community has been absolutely phenomenal." Much of that interest stems directly from news of a pending oil boom in relation to the Peace oil sands and the construction of multi-million-dollar heavy oil upgrade at Kathleen by PRO Upgrading Inc. out of Red Deer. The project, dubbed the Bluesky Upgrader, is to be located 10 kilometres south of McLennan within the Municipal District of Smoky River 130. The facility is proposed to be operational by 2010 and will have the capacity of upgrading 25,000 barrels per day of heavy oil. Don Allan, who co-founded the Red Deer-based private company with his brother, Doug, says work is scheduled to start this summer on the project, which will accelerate development of Alberta's least-tapped oil sands deposit in the Peace River region. Chavis says enquiries for property in the small rural community of roughly 800 residents have reached a fever pitch in recent weeks, adding that the town is taking the necessary steps to make the transition of sales as smooth as possible. Part of that process, she says, will involve the hiring of a development consultant to assist the municipality in establishing legislative parameters in relation to future development in the community. "We have a number of challenges in front of us which need to be addressed in short order, including amendments to our General Municipal Plan and land-use bylaws," Chavis explains. And that's merely scratching the proverbial surface. The town CAO says the municipality has set up a meeting for April 19th with GPEC Consulting Ltd. to discuss solutions for the servicing of lots and the associated costs involved. The meeting will tie in closely with the town's redevelopment plan, which is presently being carried out by Mackenzie Municipal Services Agency based in Berwyn. "The vision of this plan is to develop the portion of town-owned property next to Northern Lakes College's Smoky River campus for residential housing purposes," Chavis explains. The intent of the redevelopment plan is to act as the cornerstone policy framework outlining future development and growth within the community. It addresses a number of key aspects, ranging from: relevant planning framework and legislation, proposed land uses in the plan area, location of key transportation routes and utility corridors, preliminary subdivision patterns and design, provision of municipal and environmental reserves, phasing of development, populations density and build out, as well as administration and implementation. Chavis says the area redevelopment plan will serve as a key element in determining servicing capability, servicing costs, and the engineering work required to realize development of these lands, adding that the plan, in combination with engineering work, will also help guide the municipality through the land use bylaw amendment and subdivision approval process. "We would like to have everything in place by this fall," she says, adding that the town is exploring the possibility of accessing a grant through Alberta Transportation to recoup 75 per cent of all lot servicing costs. Northern Lakes Area Redevelopment Plan. Feb/2006 Email:   twnmcl@serbernet.com