The Municipality of Rhineland wants to better define how the fringe area surrounding Altona should be developed. To that end, the municipality will begin public consultations on the topic beginning in June.

A fringe area can be referred to as the transition zone where urban and rural uses mix and sometimes clash. For example, that zone would include areas such as Old Altona to the south and the east side of PTH 30, including the space north and west of Altona.

"This secondary plan takes a look at that fringe area and helps to define how that space is to be utilized, so that we know where things are going to go such as residences, industry, and commercial ventures," said reeve Don Wiebe.

Rhineland went through this process with the community of Plum Coulee prior to municipal amalgamation.

"For Plum Coulee the planning is now in place for developing the fringe area, and this is the same concept. I believe we had two open house meetings with the public and it's actually quite interesting to see how people react to this concept; how they think about how to shape their community, and what goes here, and what makes sense to go [there]," he said.

Wiebe added, he thinks the public consultations will help to get the development plan moving forward and provide public insight on what kind of changes should be made.