White City looking to appeal committee’s decision on town’s boundaries

White City has decided to continue its battle over its boundaries.

On Jan. 12, the Saskatchewan Municipal Board’s Municipal Boundary Committee dismissed the town’s application to alter its boundaries and combine a number of communities into one municipality.

On Thursday, the town announced it had filed an application for leave to appeal the committee’s decision.

The idea to amalgamate the town with other subdivisions in the Rural Municipality of Edenwold was first proposed in 2018.

In 2019, the town filed an application with the Saskatchewan Municipal Board to incorporate White City, Emerald Park, Park Meadows Estates, Meadow Ridge Estates, Escott/Deneve, and Great Plains Industrial Park into one municipality.

According to the town’s release, the application “sought to ensure that the town would have sufficient land to support a well-planned and managed community over the next 25 years by incorporation of undeveloped lands as well as the existing subdivisions.”

The move would have involved nearly 4,000 acres of land.

The committee’s decision to dismiss the application followed a hearing held Nov. 23-29 in Regina. In Thursday’s media release, White City Mayor Brian Fergusson said the town chose to appeal after consulting with legal counsel.

“The decision by the MBC appears at odds with long-standing direction by the province to municipalities to engage in long-term planning and with the long-term planning horizons adopted by many urban municipalities across the province,” Fergusson said.

“Our decision is based on a full review of the reasons provided and on what we consider to be insufficient analysis and reasoning in support of the committee’s conclusions. We are also concerned about the failure to address certain matters, including the issue of land for commercial or industrial development.”

If the town is granted leave to appeal, it will go through a process that could culminate in a hearing before the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.