Town of Hinton leaders say provincial red tape is slowing down business and development | CBC News

Municipal leaders say provincial delays in approving the closures of undeveloped roads are slowing down business and development in a small town west of Edmonton.

Under the Municipal Government Act, smaller communities need permission from the transportation and economic corridors minister to pass a bylaw with a road closure.

Mayor Nicholas Nissen said the Town of Hinton has seen three recent examples of long waits for that ministry approval.

Hinton waited nearly a year for the ministry to approve two right-of-way closure bylaws it submitted in the fall of 2022 and the town is still waiting for approval on another one it sent in May 2023.

The bylaws related to an affordable housing project, a business expansion and a hotel development in the town of 10,000 about 300 kilometres west of Edmonton.

Nissen said the “roads” the town wanted to permanently close were not being used as roads and never had been. They were undeveloped pieces of land with a road right-of-way designation.

“This is not the kind of thing that needs ministerial approval,” he said in an interview.

In a letter sent to the Ministry of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction on behalf of the town’s council in January, Nissen said the road closure approval process was “significantly time-consuming,” posing challenges for development, subdivision and land sales. 

“The current delays in road closure approvals are not only hindering our growth but also negatively impacting our attractiveness to potential investors and developers,” he wrote.

Developer Greg Hall, who owns a building that he leases to a Fountain Tire shop just off Gregg Avenue, said he wanted to buy an adjacent lot from the town so his tenant could expand the business. 

The town had to apply for ministerial approval so it could close the lane and road right-of-way surrounding the land.

“That’s the frustrating part about the year-long wait because it’s literally a back alley that’s never been used,” Hall said. 

“It’s trees. It’s just there on paper.”

Hinton communications co-ordinator Alexa Wade said the town submitted the application for the project on Nov. 23, 2022 and it was approved on Nov. 15, 2023.

Hall said the delay cost him and his tenants.

“Everybody’s business is held up,” he said.

Six-month backlog

Dale Nally, the minister of Service Alberta and red tape reduction, responded to Nissen in a letter last month. 

He said the ministry is working to address the backlog of road closure applications. 

“Once the current backlog is cleared, [the ministry’s] goal is to reduce processing time for road closure requests from six months to three months,” he wrote.

Hinton’s council discussed the minister’s response at a recent council meeting and pushed back on the proposed three-month timeline. 

“That’s not red tape reduction to me,” Coun. Stuart Taylor said during the meeting. 

Hinton’s council voted to send a follow-up letter explaining how a three-month timeline affects small businesses and encouraging the province to explore possible solutions, including allowing for more municipal control over road closure applications. 

Red tape reduction

In her mandate letter to Nally last year, Premier Danielle Smith said “unnecessary red tape and uncertain and protracted timelines for needed approvals” are one of the biggest drags on business growth and development. 

She said the issue needed to be addressed “on an expedited basis.”

“The province is looking for where we can cut some red tape, and I think, realistically, some of these things do not need a ministerial decision and getting rid of a minister’s signature is the fastest way to cut red tape,” Nissen said. 

Hall said he would like to see these kinds of approvals take a few weeks, not months.

Jesse Furber, the press secretary for Devin Dreeshen, the minister of transportation and economic corridors, said the ministry receives an average of 102 road closure applications per year. 

He said as the province grows and more development occurs, applications have become more detailed and complex, requiring increasingly in-depth review. 

Furber said last year the ministry created an application tracking hub, allowing for digital submissions and increased communication.

He also said the government has recently added resources to the road closures area and is confident that the backlog will be addressed within this calendar year. 

Before the pandemic, normal processing times were between 30 and 60 days, he said.