Provincial Planning Regulation
Geospatial Data and Other Background Information
The new Provincial Planning Regulation requires that local planning authorities gather information on a variety of topics, including demographics, land uses and geographical features of the area, in the preparation of a development plan, or perhaps for a plan amendment. This information can be presented in different formats, including geographic information system (GIS) maps or tables, and used to develop policies that are consistent with the Provincial Planning Regulation. The Province can assist a planning authority to identify and gather much of this information.
- Geospatial data
- Transportation infrastructure
- Aquifers
- Pollution
- Wildlife habitats
- Riparian areas
- Prime agricultural lands
- Other Background information
- Land values: these are collected for the municipalities by the Assessment Services Branch of the Department of Municipal Relations. Contact your Community and Regional Planning office for assistance.
- Links
A good place to start is a background inventory and mapping exercise. This entails collecting and compiling spatial data related to existing land uses and the physical characteristics of the land. The spatial data compiled during the background inventory and mapping exercise will be analysed to help determine how to designate land in a development plan.
Spatial data can be loaded into a Geographic Information System (GIS). Data contained in GIS can be edited, queried, displayed, categorized and overlaid to produce a variety of maps to facilitate analysis. Once captured in a GIS layer, data can be maintained by the planning authority for use in a variety of exercises or processes (ex. Analysis for applications for new or expanding livestock operations, new subdivision applications, or Public Sector Accounting Board requirements).
In Manitoba, GIS-ready spatial datasets can be downloaded at no charge from the Manitoba Land Initiative (MLI) website. Many of the datasets required for a background inventory mapping exercise are available from the MLI. Consult the MSWord documents associated with each MLI dataset for information about the data itself, including its coverage and how up-to-date it is.
A map of existing uses will help a planning authority gain an understanding of where land use conflicts may occur and where incompatible uses may encroach on one another. There is no limit as to what to capture when compiling an inventory of existing uses and the uses captured will be specific to a given planning area.
Information on the following can be obtained at the Manitoba Land Initiative website:
Other useful background information to gather to support local planning includes the following: