Blog – Christopher Northcott

Remarks Regarding Bylaw 2026-007

Christopher Northcott on June 19, 2026

(The following was delivered during the discussion of Bylaw 2026-007 at the Regular Meeting of Vulcan County Council on June 17, 2026.)

If this rezone proceeds, it will be the largest single contiguous tract of land designated as Rural Industrial in Vulcan County. This is a substantial re-consideration of our zoning that will be precedent setting for Vulcan County as a whole and for this specific area. As we learned from our Public Hearing on June 10^th, an overwhelming majority of participants in the Public Hearing are opposed. While there may well be others out there who are favourable to the proposed redesignation, their silence suggests indifference or lack of vested interest. That is not the case for a significant number of residents and property owners from Little Bow Resort who have been contributing ratepayers of Vulcan County for many years. They rightly point out that our own bylaws require us to ensure that the impacts of any re-zoning and development permit applications that could negatively harm them are mitigated. Given the scale of the proposed redesignation, these impacts are not sufficiently understood to warrant redesignation.

Notes from Council, May 2026

Christopher Northcott on June 3, 2026

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

Tax notices have gone out and are due at the end of July. Please contact the County Office if you have not received notices that you are expecting, or should you have questions about your property assessment that need to be brought to the attention of the County’s assessor.

If you are interested in deep diving on County financial information, our Corporate Services team does an excellent job preparing award winning reports that are available on the website: https://www.vulcancounty.ab.ca/ (As mentioned previously, Vulcan County has been recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association International for the quality of its reporting.). Select the second button from the left, “Financial Reporting”, at the bottom of the Home Page. That will take you to three interactive dashboards: Financial Reporting, Performance Measures, and 2025 Annual Financial. Scrolling down the same page, you will come to the 2026 budget for operations and capital expenditures. There is historical information, as well as insight into the budgeting process. Please reach out if you have any questions.

Notes from Council, April 2026

Christopher Northcott on June 3, 2026

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

There were two meetings of Council in April and one meeting of the Budget Committee. Between regular council business and a public hearing for a land use bylaw rezoning application, April 1^st ended up being a lengthy day. Council undertook some administrative updates to the Linear Tax Stability bylaw, as well as providing a letter of support for the Marquis Foundation seniors housing project. While the former provides predictable levels of taxation for large linear assets, the latter is necessary for funding agreements with the Province of Alberta and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to move towards construction of a new seniors lodge. Also at this meeting, Council adopted a Shotgun Policy to enable Community Peace Officers to have a humane way to dispatch animals should it not be possible to get a wildlife officer on scene when needed. Council chose not to extend this authority to agricultural fieldman at this time.

Notice of Public Hearing – Proposed Bylaw 2026-007 – Data Processing Operation

Christopher Northcott on March 30, 2026

I have received inquiries regarding the proposed Data Processing Operation rezoning application. A Public Hearing is scheduled for April 1, 2026, and notice has been circulated.

The following is the published agenda package. Any updates or changes can be found directly on the Vulcan County website, here.

Public Hearing for Bylaw 2026-007 – 01 Apr 2026 – Agenda – Pdf Download

The following is the Public Hearing Notice and supporting materials.

Notification-Package-Bylaw-2026-007 Download

One question I received concerns the impact of the proposed development on Vulcan County tax revenue.

Looking at the 2025 Tax Rates for General Municipal Taxes, if completed the proposed development will generate significant tax revenue for Vulcan County given that the development will be assessed as Non-Residential property and taxed accordingly. Assessment values on Farmland are much lower, being regulated by the province and not reflective of market value, so this must be considered when comparing tax rates across different assessment types.

Vulcan County General Municipal Tax Rates for 2025 are as follows:

General municipal property taxes raise the money required in the municipal budget that cannot be raised from all other sources of revenue. The overall taxable assessment of Vulcan County changes from one year to the next. A growth in taxable assessment that stems from new development (being new assessment) helps alleviate the burden of paying for the “revenue shortfall” across all ratepayers, assuming municipal expenditures are not increasing to the same extent or greater, or that other budgeted sources of revenue do not change. There are a lot of assumptions that go into a municipal budget!

Vulcan County provides information on its rezoning process here: https://www.vulcancounty.ab.ca/departments/planning-development/land-use-bylaw-amendment/rezone/

These types of applications are provided under s.62 of the Vulcan County Land Use Bylaw, which can be found here: https://www.vulcancounty.ab.ca/document/2594/

Members of the public are encouraged to attend and provide comment at a Public Hearing if they deem themselves to be affected by the application. Evidence submitted in Public Hearing becomes part of the public record. As per s. 184 of the Municipal Government Act of Alberta, a municipal councilor must participate in the Public Hearing in order to vote on the bylaw amendment that requires one.

Notes from Council, March 2026

Christopher Northcott on March 30, 2026

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

There was one council meeting in March where we dealt with three bylaws. Council gave First Reading to Bylaw 2026-007 to rezone lands proposed for the development of a data centre. Being a Land Use Bylaw amendment, this type of bylaw requires a Public Hearing to be held prior to Second and Third Reading. A Public Hearing is scheduled for April 1^st so please check out the County’s website for more information on the proposal. Your input is welcome.

Notes from Council, February 2026

Christopher Northcott on March 10, 2026

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

The District 20 (Champion) Fire Protection Association met on February 19^th for the first time this year. The Association is hoping to do three community bingos this year so please watch the Champion Chronicle and social media for notices of these events.

Also discussed at this meeting were the governance policies for the association, as well as the memorandum of understanding that sets the association apart from the District 20 fire department of Vulcan County. While the association is established to raise public awareness and fundraise for local emergency services, the regional fire department is the sole service provider.

Finally, the association is working on a path forward for its building project initiative, one that will see the eventual construction of an annex east of the fire hall for additional secure storage of equipment. Last year, the association was unsuccessful in applying for a Community Facility Enhancement Program grant, proposing a facility that would support not only the fire department but other community groups who require secure storage for equipment. Volunteers are now working with Vulcan County personnel on how to best phase and develop this project while pursuing alternative funding opportunities. I am working to facilitate these conversations. The tremendous support of the Champion Community and region for the activities of the fire association is greatly appreciated. As such, I will do my best to provide regular updates on this building project.