Stony Plain completes public engagement for new Municipal Development Plan

STONY PLAIN -- The Town of Stony Plain has completed the public engagement phase for its new Municipal Development Plan.

Stony Plain's MDP, which hasn't been updated since 2012, serves as a blueprint to guide how a community grows and evolves over the next several decades. Over the past several months, the town has engaged members of the public to help chart the path forward regarding Stony Plain's community goals, objectives, and future direction for land use, housing, and economic development.

Manager of Planning and Development Miles Dibble says the most common feedback they've gotten has related to the desire to see Stony Plain keep its small-town character as it continues to expand. 

"The main topic that really shone through was the small-town feeling," said Dibble. "Whether it was preserving that into the future, or what brought people here, or what people currently like about the community. It was really a nebulous term of small-town feeling and sense of character."

Dibble says that Stony Plain residents have also expressed their desire for more trails, parks, and additional recreational opportunities within the township. Respondents from this past summer's public engagement sessions also emphasized that they want to see the Town of Stony Plain grow in a responsible way, as to keep strong services and infrastructure for current residents. Dibble notes that most of what they heard echoes the sentiments of residents from their last MDP renewal from over a decade ago.

"Regardless of how we phrased it back then -- the small-town feeling, the sense of place, sense of character, those ideas I think have been re-branded or said in a different way," said Dibble. "In terms of the love of trails and parks, I think it was a little bit more generic back then, and a little bit more specific now."

To capture feedback, Stony Plain hosted ten community parties, which offered refreshments, yard games, and entertainment for all ages, and also attended various other events, including Midsummer Thursdays, Summer Sessions, the Mâmawihitowin Summer Gathering, and the Farmers' Day Pancake Breakfast. 

"This engagement is important for informing our shared vision for the future of Stony Plain," said Mayor William Choy. "Being able to collect such comprehensive feedback is a testament to the community pride shared by Stony Plain residents."

An initial draft of the Town of Stony Plain's Municipal Development Plan will take place over the next few months and is expected to be brought before council sometime in early 2027.