By Jasmine Franklin
The public is invited to review the West Gull Lake development plan and voice their opinions or concerns to Ponoka County.
“Council has already agreed this is developable, now it’s a matter of what the public concerns may be,” said Charlie Cutforth, chief administrative officer.
“We need to see if the public is in agreement,” said Reeve Gordon Svenningsen at council’s May 11 meeting.
Bob Riddett with West Central Planning Agency explained that a water study is completed and shows there is an abundant supply of groundwater that can be used without affecting wildlife.
“The short answer is, yes,” Riddett said. “There is plenty of groundwater.”
The open house will be held June 7 at either the Crestomere School gymnasium or the Rimbey Recreation Centre.
The plan that will be presented to the public defines areas suitable for development and total water supply.
Cutforth said pressure has been put on the county for the past few years to allow for limited development on the west side of Gull Lake. A large portion of the land is poor farm land but would support developments of different kinds, he said.
Riddett said a mixture of lot sizes is available and Cutforth agreed that it may even be suitable for some low-density acreages.
After the public hearing, the outline plan will be incorporated with the Gull Lake Management Plan that includes the East Gull Lake Development Plan. The management plan is currently under review.
The entire management plan will establish guidelines for council should individuals decide to apply for development on the land; it will give direction on what is and is not permitted on the land.