RM of Corman Park may leave Saskatoon growth plan amid rocky relationship

The Rural Municipality of Corman Park council is exploring the prospect of leaving the Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth or P4G. (Keenan Sorokan/CTV News)

The Rural Municipality (RM) of Corman Park is looking to leave a regional planning commission after years of frustration with the City of Saskatoon.

At a special planning committee meeting Tuesday, RM of Corman Park council recommended unilateral withdrawal from P4G, the Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth, a group consisting of Saskatoon, Martensville and Warman, the RM of Corman Park and the Town of Osler organized to collaborate and plan growth for the region.

During the committee meeting, multiple councillors voiced frustration with the City of Saskatoon and a partnership that has become one sided in Saskatoon’s favour.

“It’s a little rocky right now,” Corman Park Reeve Joe Hargrave said following the meeting. We think going forward has to change. We have a population of almost 10,000 people, which is like a city. But what happens is, when we put things forward, each of those other constituencies have a veto over us, but yet we don’t have any input into what they do in their jurisdiction."

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P4G was established in 2014 after years of discussions dating back to 2007 about how to grow the larger region. The planning district was given ministerial approval in 2022 to replace the previous Corman Park-Saskatoon Planning District. While increasing dialogue and planning, Corman Park administration has identified a number of issues after four years of P4G.

The biggest is regional coordination versus municipal autonomy. The P4G framework has provided ongoing tension where the urban centres have a strong interest in protecting growth boundaries and preventing what they consider premature or leapfrog development, the report before councillors described.

The RM’s view is that it seeks flexibility to advance development opportunities in the near term. Administration has said contrasting growth priorities create conflict regarding timing, land use, and servicing expectations.

Councillors also discussed the “quagmire of bureaucracy” P4G has created with another layer of red tape for developers to navigate in addition to municipal bylaws and provincial or federal regulations. Another concern is that the framework is interpreted differently by different parties with no dispute resolution process built in.

Finally, the interpretation of future growth areas is heavily disputed by the RM. It feels the city views these lands as intended for future annexation and jurisdiction, while the R.M understands them to be areas interred for servicing and regional development.

“We’re basically being told by our partners we can’t develop on our own land,” Chief Administrative Officer Kerry Hilts said.

Singled out in the meeting was the tension between Saskatoon and the RM of Corman Park’s differing opinions on growth, and the number of opportunities it has cost Corman Park.

These issues came to a head in the fall when the City of Saskatoon objected to a development in Corman Park, which has effectively stalled the development.

Solair, a solar-power neighbourhood previously pitched to Saskatoon as the province’s most sustainable community development southeast of Rosewood, was rejected by Saskatoon city council in 2019.

Arbutus, the developer of the project, scaled the subdivision plans back from 7,000 people to 4,050 people and roughly 1,700 homes, and took it to Corman Park further east.

With Saskatoon planning to expand there in the future, Corman Park administration feels development in that area competes with Saskatoon’s overall vision.

“It was never meant to be a jurisdiction map to tell our partners where they could just grow and not us,” Division 5 Coun. Art Pruim said of P4G during the meeting.

Saskatoon city media relations denied an interview request with administration about the P4G, but when asked about the relationship with Corman Park, Mayor Cynthia Block said the city gets along “fantastically” with the RM. She supports continuing with P4G.

“I think that our ability to understand our neighbors requires us to get to know one another and keep understanding what are the pressures in your community, and how can we support that?” she said.

While Hargrave and his colleagues expect to see some major changes to the P4G framework if Corman Park is to remain a partner.

“We are serious. If there’s no changes, we will withdraw. And it’s just that simple,” Hargrave said.

Hilts said one implication of leaving P4G could open Corman Park up to more annexation disputes where the RM is constantly negotiating settlements for its land.

Administration will report back on the annexation process, risks and costs associated with pulling out of P4G before council makes a decision in June. Council recommended administration explore unilateral withdrawal from P4G in a 7-2 vote.

After discussions have remained largely silent or behind closed doors for years, Corman Park is ready to publicly acknowledge its disappointment with the current partnership.

“It’s time that it’s sort of come public that we need that change,” Hargrave said. “We want it to be a partnership, but a partnership means it’s a partnership, not just one side.”