Lacombe County has rejected a request by the Town of Sylvan Lake to climb aboard a joint planning initiative with other lakeside municipalities.
Sylvan Lake Mayor Susan Samson sent the county a letter recently asking it to participate in a new intermunicipal development plan to guide growth while ensuring lake health is maintained.
The plan would look at the cumulative effects of all proposed development, potential impacts on water quality, and involve reviews of boat access, traffic and other issues expected to crop up over the next 20 years as thousands of new residents arrive.
County Reeve Terry Engen said getting involved in an intermunicipal development plan would mean dropping an area structure plan for Sylvan Lake that is in the works and is expected to be completed before the municipal elections in October.
“Council was not prepared to do that. We’re well underway and we’ve spent a lot of money getting it as far as it has gone.”
Another problem is that the county has a five-year planning schedule and inserting a complicated multi-municipality plan would mean dropping other projects.
“We know that the last IDP we were involved in, one of them took five years to complete, one of them about two and a half years. They are very expensive and we certainly haven’t budgeted for any of that.”
Samson said she was not aware of the county’s decision and was reluctant to respond until she was notified.
“I would prefer to wait until it’s official and deal with it at that level.”
In her letter to the county, Samson says that any negative impacts on the lake would affect all the municipalities economically and could be irreversible.
The county’s area structure plan anticipates 8,500 new residences and 21,000 people could be added to the area in coming decades. Setbacks, environmental reserves and water quality checks are in place but it is unclear who will oversee and police that, Samson has said previously.
Red Deer County has also opted out of an intermunicipal development plan.
Samson said that doesn’t concern her as much because the lakeside lands in Red Deer County will eventually be annexed by the town. The two municipalities are already working on a separate intermunicipal development plan that will address key development issues.
The five summer villages have also been invited to be part of the joint plan but Samson has not heard back from them yet. She has offered to speak to each of the councils to explain the town’s rationale for a co-ordinated planning effort.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com