County Office - Departments - Planning/Development - Subdivisions
Subdivision - Possible Costs

POSSIBLE SUBDIVISION COSTS INCLUDE:

Design & Engineering:
This is usually necessary only for multi lot subdivisions.

Water Tests:
Provincial legislation requires water tests if more than six lots on a quarter section will use groundwater.  These tests must be conducted by a professional engineer and may cost several thousand dollars.

Subdivision Application:
Local municipalities have jointly established the West Central Planning Agency to process subdivisions.  WCPA charges $450 per application  plus $100 for each new lot to be created (subdividing one lot into two would cost $550).  This pays for the cost of processing the application, including at least one site visit.  (See also Developer’s Agreement & Endorsement Fees)  Subdivision applications are submitted to WCPA.

Roadbuilding:  This is usually required only for multi-lot subdivisions, but occasionally a single lot will require road construction.  $16/linear foot is a fair estimate, but can run higher in difficult conditions or small jobs.  All roads must be built to County standards.

Approaches:  Every lot must have an approach off the County road.  Because the approach is actually on the road allowance, it must be built to County standards.  Usually this involves excavating black dirt, installing a culvert, backfilling with suitable material, compacting  and gravelling.  An approach and culvert may cost $2,000± if the work is contracted out.

Survey:  After approval is received, you will have to hire an Alberta Land Surveyor to prepare a plan to be registered at Land Titles Office.  There are two sorts of plans:

• A simple rectangular subdivision can often be done by Descriptive Plan.  The surveyor prepares a drawing with dimensions and areas, but does not leave any monuments on site.  This saves time and effort so descriptive plans can often be prepared and registered at Land Titles for under $1,000.
• A multi-lot subdivision, an awkward shaped lot, or a second subdivision out of a quarter section will usually require a full Plan of Survey.  A survey crew posts all lot corners, and ties them to pre-existing monuments in the neighbourhood.  This removes all doubt about boundaries, but is more expensive.  A plan of subdivision is likely to cost more than $1,500 and may be much higher if the surveyor has to search for or re-establish monuments.
• Any subdivision may be done by plan of survey, but only Land Titles Office can allow a descriptive plan.  If you wish to use a descriptive plan, WCPA  or your surveyor will get a ruling from Land Titles.

Registration:  Land Titles Office charges the surveyor to register the plan, and this amount will be added onto his bill to you.

Developer’s Agreement (for multi lot subdivisions):  The County requires the developer to enter into an agreement to undertake certain works as a condition of subdivision approval.  The County also charges $100 per lot created to help recover administration and inspection costs.

Municipal Reserves:  The municipality may take up to 10% of the area of the subdivision for parks, schools or buffer strips.  If they do not want the land, they can take money to the same value.  This is calculated as 10% of the raw land value of the resulting lots.

No reserves are payable on the first subdivision out of a quarter, or on lots of 40 or more acres which can be used for farming.

Endorsement Fees:  Once the surveyor has completed the plan, he sends it to WCPA for final approval.  WCPA checks that  all conditions of approval have been met and that the lot is what was approved.  WCPA charges $100 per lot for this final check.

No endorsement fees are charged for lot line adjustments.