By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
The City of Martensville has initiated the process of annexing roughly six Crown-owned hectares of land on the west side of Centennial Drive South in a bid to support future boundary alignment, infrastructure planning and transportation co-ordination.
The proposed annexation was first discussed by City of Martensville councilors at the February 10 committee of the whole meeting.
It was then brought back a week later to the February 17 meeting where council unanimously passed a motion to initiate the boundary alteration process for four parcels of land located within the quarter-sections at NE 20-38-05-3 and SE 20-39-05-3.
The motion also requires notice to be issued to the province, the Prairie Spirit School Division and the Saskatoon Greater Catholic School Division as required by the Cities Act, and for a complementary resolution to be requested from the RM of Corman Park.
The city will also publicly advertise the annexation, and if there are any objections, a public meeting will be held in accordance with provincial legislation.
According to an administration report, the proposed annexation of lands on the west side of Martensville was actually initiated in 2023. At that time, the city was looking to annex excess Ministry of Highways lands adjacent to the overpass, along with other lands needed for the South East Sector Plan.
Since then, administration has reviewed the proposed annexation area in the context of updated planning work, infrastructure priorities, and new development timelines. It has been determined that a privately-owned quarter-section at SE 22-38-05 W3 is no longer needed, so that has been dropped.
The lands now proposed for annexation consist of several parcels forming a continous corridor along the city’s boundary.
Mayor Kent Muench commented during the February 10 committee of the whole meeting that the annexation should be expedited as quickly as possible.
He pointed out there will still be government approvals required after the other previously-mentioned steps are completed, and it took the province several years after the completion of the overpass in 2018 to decide to dispose of these excess lands.
“It is great land for developing and it is just sitting there,” he said.