Corman Park looks to leave ‘one-sided’ partnership with Saskatoon, other cities

Saskatchewan’s largest rural municipality is moving forward with a plan to expand its growth more quickly.

Corman Park, the rural municipality (RM) around Saskatoon, began peeling back red tape to speed up development on March 25.

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That’s when the RM got the authority to approve developments – like residential subdivisions – which, until that point was a provincial responsibility.

The new power came into effect on April 1.

If someone wants to build a house, the RM no longer needs to send it off for the stamp of approval from the province, according to Corman Park Reeve, Joe Hargrave, explaining what the authority allows for.

“It allows us to do our job, and look at it and get it done,” Hargrave said.

While still following all necessary guidelines, it “eliminates” a lot of back and forth, he added, helping speed up development for individuals and developers.

Once the authority was handed from the province to Corman Park, 41 of the RM’s files were sent back, which Hargrave said shows how much of a “delay” the process was causing for growth.

Leaving the partnership for growth

Now, the RM is strongly considering leaving the Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth (P4G).

It’s a partnership with Martensville, Osler, Warman and Saskatoon.

Explaining the agreement, Hargrave said if Corman Park is planning a development, the RM needs to send those plans to all the partners, “and they get an input as to what we’re going to do and where our growth goes.”

The four partners then have 60 days to provide comments.

Corman Park, though, isn’t privy to the same oversight for these cities.

“We don’t get to look at what they’re doing and get to approve that or criticize that,” Hargrave said, calling it “one-sided.”

On April 21, a Corman Park committee voted 7-2 to withdraw from the partnership. The final decision on whether that will actually happen, though, is scheduled for a June 29 council meeting.

Blocking Saskatoon’s growth

If Corman Park does leave the partnership, in combination with its new authority to approve developments, projects will be able to, “move along a lot faster,” according to Hargrave.

But, Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block told the Evan Bray Show on April 23 that, “in order for Saskatoon to be successful, we absolutely must have a pathway for growth.

“The RM encircles the entirety of Saskatoon, so we can’t be hemmed in without that preventing a pathway for growth and really impacting affordability in our city,” she said.

Hargrave said leaving P4G won’t block the growth of Corman Park’s four partner cities.

According to Hargrave, if one of them wants to expand, it only has to show a need for that land to the RM and the province, “and then they can annex the land wherever.”

Mending the relationship to keep P4G intact would require some changes, Hargrave said, although he noted it is possible.

“We need to know that we’re that full partner,” he said. “Our needs to have to be taken into consideration and not just theirs.”