The Municipal Government Act (MGA) is the legislative framework in which all municipalities across the Province of Alberta operate. It provides the governance model for municipalities and lays the foundation of how we function, including areas of planning and development.  The MGA identifies the hierarchy and relationship of statutory plans, so that each plan will be consistent with the plans above it and, in the event of an inconsistency, which provisions in what plan will prevail.

The Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA) is provincial legislation, establishing a regional approach to land use planning through the implementation of the Alberta Land-use Framework (LUF). It aims to achieve Alberta’s long-term economic, social, and environmental goals through the efficient management of public and private lands and natural resources. The ALSA divides up the province into seven “land-use regions”, based on the LUF, which correspond to Alberta’s major watersheds, and contemplates a regional plan for each region. The Village of Standard is located within the North Saskatchewan Region.

The province’s Land Use Policies were created under the MGA to guide municipalities in harmonizing provincial and municipal policy initiatives at the local land use planning level. The policies establish high-level principles, such as a collaborative approach to addressing planning issues, for better land use planning. The Provincial Land Use Policies will be replaced by regional plans once in effect.

The regional plan sets out a new approach for managing the lands and natural resources to achieve the province's long-term environmental, economic and social goals. 

The North Saskatchewan Region is located in central Alberta and has approximately 85,780 square kilometres, or just under 13 per cent of Alberta's total land base. The region is bordered by Saskatchewan to the east, British Columbia to the west, the Upper Athabasca and the Lower Athabasca regions to the north and the South Saskatchewan and Red Deer regions to the south (and includes the Village of Standard.) The region has a large and diverse landscape, which contains the Rocky Mountains, rolling foothills and prairie parkland.   

All municipalities sharing a common boundary, effective March 31, 2021 for rural municipalities, were required to adopt an IDP between the municipalities. An IDP is a statutory plan that establishes any conflict relating to planning activities within or around another Municipality; and, ensures orderly development by reducing unnecessary costs and negative impacts on either municipality.

The MDP is a statutory plan that establishes policies for land use and other matters for the entire municipality. It is a high level document that provides leadership and direction in the preservation of environmentally sensitive areas and provisions for the infrastructure necessary to encourage sustainable and economic development.

The LUB is a planning tool that helps implement the goals in the land use plans and regulates development within the Village. All parcels of land are divided into different districts; each district consists of development regulations and permitted or discretionary uses to be considered.