The Rural Municipality of Sherwood says the City of Regina’s ambitious plan to annex land and expand its boundaries could hinder economic development in the RM.

Deputy Reeve Tim Probe says the RM was “shocked” when Regina Mayor Michael Fougere announced the annexation plan last week.

“Through our ongoing discussions in recent months, the RM has never, and I repeat never, been consulted about annexation plans,” Probe said at a news conference Monday.

“Friday’s unilateral announcement about the City of Regina’s intention to annex, and the RM’s supposed agreement, was not based on any of these discussions. It appears to be a fabrication.”

Probe says the RM and the City are on the same page when it comes to which areas should be developed.

However, the two sides appear to be at odds over which government should have jurisdiction over the land, which has attracted interest from several developers.

Probe says the RM could provide the same level of services to developers looking to build in the urban-rural fringe around Regina.

He said the city could then annex the developed land in the future. In the meantime, the RM and its residents would reap the benefits of a larger tax base.

But Fougere says the city has no intention of annexing developed land from the RM in the years ahead.

He said the joint regional planning commission that was disbanded by the RM in 2012 should be reinstated to smooth out the jurisdictional dispute.

“Planning is not an easy process, particularly when the committee that we had for regional development has been disbanded,” Fougere said.

“We need to find a way to bring that back together, that’s how you have constructive, day-by-day discussions.”

Fougere stressed that the city isn’t looking to annex land in the short term, and that any such proposal would be subject to negotiations with the RM.

“We share a lot of the same concerns,” Fougere said. “Part of this is negotiation, and we continue to talk reeve to mayor, administration to administration.”

Last week, the RM approved first reading of its official community plan, which could accommodate a city population of up to 300,000 people.

Regina’s official community plan projects the city will grow to 300,000 people by 2035, while the annexation plan predicts the population will reach half a million over the next 40 to 50 years.