Brief History

1860s

Reverend James Nisbet, founded the missionary settlement of Prince Albert in the 1860s, which became a centre of trade activity for the Hudson Bay Company. Settlement surveyed in 1878 with a river lot system.

1904

1910

Increased railway and hydropower prospects.
Many grand homes were appeared on the west hill.
Town planners E.A. James and T. Aird Murray from Toronto in 1912 recommended a traffic bridge at Sixth Ave. E. and a system of 86-foot highways radiating from the business centre to the suburban peripheries. Also recommended widening and opening the streets to install a street railway system.

1930s

Council hired A.E.K. Bunnell of Toronto to report on town planning in Prince Albert. Bunnell suggested establishing a town planning commission and developed a zoning scheme. Prince Albert became the fourth city in Western Canada to pass a comprehensive town planning bylaw scheme in September 1930.
Bunnell proposed dividing Prince Albert into seven districts, with the agricultural district being the largest. A light industrial zone was created along the C.N.R. tracks from Fourth Ave East to the western city limits. Land along the tracks from Fourth to Sixth Ave E. and a substantial area around the fair grounds were reserved for “heavy industry,” such as packing plants, oil refineries and large flour mills.
Bunnell studied the need for major thoroughfares and parks in the city.

1960s

Highway improvement and a bridge in Prince Albert attracted a considerable level of traffic and development. In 1967, City assumed ownership of the provincial former Jail Farm land and developed it into several residential suburbs – Crescent Heights, Carlton Park and Crescent Acres.
Neighbourhood units became popular in Prince Albert. A neighbourhood unit is a suburb designed to create the critical mass to support a school, which along with the surrounding parks, becomes the focal point of the neighbourhood. Arterial streets define residential areas and residents are protected from traffic.
The Prince Albert Development Plan of 1967 was developed.

1977 Transportation Study established the present day arterial road system

1981 Urban Design Guidelines for the Downtown

The Municipal Development Plan (MDP) by Bylaw No. 50 of 1982

In 1982, Council formally adopted The Municipal Development Plan (MDP) by Bylaw No. 50 of 1982. It contained a Background Statement, Policy Plan, Zoning Bylaw and Capital Works Program. The Plan also contained a Conceptual Land Use Plan to direct growth until the Target Year of 50,000 people.

City of Prince Albert Policy Plan (Development Plan) Bylaw No. 2 of 1987

As per the Planning and Development Act, 1983, the Development Plan was a statutory document and any departure from the policies had to be done through an amendment bylaw.

2006 Prince Albert Development Plan

Asks city residents to voice their opinions and ideas on land use and development policies.