Town of Bentley Annexation | FAQs

Annexation is the process of transferring lands from the jurisdiction of one municipality to another municipality. This process adjusts the boundaries of the municipalities. In Alberta, annexation is normally intended to provide additional land supply for an urban municipality to grow.

Annexation does not change the ownership of land. The landowners continue to own their property, but the property is now within the boundaries of another municipality.

In this case, Lacombe County’s bylaws no longer apply to the subject lands, as they are now within the Town of Bentley, subject to the Town’s regulations. 

While the Town of Bentley has undeveloped lands identified for future residential development, it did not have space to attract new forms of commercial or industrial development required for the Town to diversify its tax based and support residential growth. The Town has been working with the County collaboratively since 2021 on the Town of Bentley / Lacombe County Joint Economic Development Initiative. This project seeks to find ways to promote and facilitate commercial and industrial development southeast of Bentley’s existing area, along the Highway 12 corridor.

In 2023, the County worked with the Town to adopt the Southeast Bentley Area Structure Plan. The Plan was adopted with the assumption that the Town would proceed with an annexation application. This application was initiated and finalized in 2024. 

The Town first approached the County to initiate discussions on the annexation in early 2024. The Town then submitted a notice of intent to annex the lands to landowners in the area, the County, and provincial agencies. The Town then conducted public engagements with local residents on the annexation. Following this, the Town and County finalized negotiations on the terms of the annexation and the Town submitted its final application to the Land and Property Rights Tribunal (LPRT). The LPRT held a hearing on August 15, 2024 to allow the public to comment on the proposed annexation. In December 2024, the Lieutenant Governor in Council approved the annexation application. 

This annexation has minimal financial impact to Lacombe County. The subject lands are agricultural and do not generate high tax revenue for the County. Further, the County has a high inventory of industrial, business industrial, and commercial land elsewhere that will continue to attract investment. It is in the best interests of the County to continue supporting the economic development of our urban neighbours, as we have in the past. This annexation was supported by County Council, as Council agreed that it is an important component of the Town of Bentley’s future growth. 

Annexation for the urban municipalities surrounded by the County is not very common. The provincial government selectively approves requests for annexation, only if there is demonstrable need for additional development lands based on growth trends and planning factors. The last time an annexation occurred in Lacombe County was in 2008 with the Town of Blackfalds.