Frame Lake land transfer to city ‘progressing through’ final stages

The NWT and Yellowknife governments say work to transfer a parcel of commissioner’s land on the shore of Frame Lake to the city is “progressing through the final stages of the land administration process.”

According to a Wednesday news release, a land sale agreement has been prepared and is in the process of being signed. The city is planning to complete a legal survey of the land in September and October.

Consultation and engagement with Indigenous governments and organizations and other affected parties has been completed, the governments said.

“Yellowknife has many opportunities ahead as our community continues to experience population and economic growth,” Mayor Ben Hendrikson was quoted as saying.

“Access to developable land provides greater ability to plan for that growth, from housing, commercial and mixed-use development to infrastructure and services, while creating new economic opportunities for everyone who call these lands home.

“Frame Lake represents an important opportunity to expand that capacity and support thoughtful, sustainable growth for our community.”

Land identified as priority for city

The Frame Lake land parcel forms a key part of the city’s vision for housing development over the next 25 years as it works to update its community plan.

The land was identified as a priority area for ownership transfer in an agreement signed between the NWT and Yellowknife governments in June.

In Wednesday’s news release, NWT environment minister Jay Macdonald said progress on the Frame Lake land transfer was made possible due to additional capacity in the department’s land management division and the territory’s prioritization of land applications for housing.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Frame Lake MLA Julian Morse said he was “happy to hear” about progress on the land transfer, adding access to land has been a longstanding issue for the city.

“This unlocks more land for development by the city and marks another step forward for our housing priority,” he wrote.

Morse said he had written to the environment minister to encourage the department to continue using a prioritization process to “ensure the most urgent land needs are addressed first, and continue to advance changes to the transfer process to make it as efficient as possible.”

In another Facebook post, city councillor Garett Cochrane said he hopes the Frame Lake land transfer will set a precedent for Yellowknife to acquire additional parcels of land.

“If we keep this pace – we will be able to start to really address housing need far more holistically,” he wrote.

Before the land transfer can be completed, the city must pass a land acquisition bylaw and ensure the land’s intended use aligns with Yellowknife’s community plan and zoning bylaw.

Once the land transfer meets all requirements, the land titles office will issue a certificate of title to the city, finalizing the process.

Community plan passes first reading

Yellowknife’s proposed new community plan expands from a focus on infill and intensification in existing neighbourhoods to include greenfield development. It is based on growth projections that estimate the city will need 2,000 additional housing units by 2050.

Councillors passed first reading of the draft community plan at a meeting at City Hall on Wednesday.

A tentative schedule published by the city suggests a public hearing on the plan could take place on September 9, followed by council’s second reading of the plan on September 23, and submission to the territorial government by the end of next month.

Several councillors have said they believe the updated draft of the new community plan is an improvement from an initial draft, but more work is needed before it can be approved.

In a post to Facebook last week, councillor Rob Foote said he believes the community plan needs “clearer targets and a more assertive growth strategy.”