New development set to begin immediately

Shannon LeClair

Times Reporter

 

School zones

School has started, or is about to start, for students in and around Strathmore, and with it, school zones will soon be in effect again. In town there are many Catholic and public schools, which have somewhat different hours and occasionally days of operation.  The big question is, if school is in for public school but is out for catholic are the school zones different between catholic schools and public schools. 

“Yes they are. We would only do enforcement if school was actually in session,” said Gary Abel, senior peace officer for the town. School zones are not enforceable on the weekend or during holidays. Many people in town might not have kids and wouldn’t know when the zones would or wouldn’t be in effect. 

“Err on the side of caution,” said Abel. 

 

RV parking 

Debate over amending the RV parking Bylaw has finally reached an end. The Bylaw has been amended and it has left some people happy and others not so happy. 

“I think we’re taking the best of everything. We’re not going to accommodate everybody,” said Councillor Brad Walls. A lot of discussion and months have gone into finding a solution that will work best for everyone, whether they are an recreational vehicle owner or not. Councillor Earl Best was against the amendment, which allows recreational vehicles to be parked at a property for a total of 72 hours every 168 hours. The previous Bylaw stated residents had a total of 24 hours to have their vehicle parked at their property. 

“It is my belief that the Bylaw and the amendment are not enforceable for our peace officers,” said Best. “Going from 24 hours to 72 hours does not address the problems related to this Bylaw.” Best continued to say the amendment is like putting a band-aid on to fix the problem and made references to Okotoks and High River and their particular RV parking. Councillors Bob Sobol and Mike Lloyd were not in attendance for the meeting. It was a recorded vote and Best was the only one who voted against the amendment. 

 

WestCreek

The WestCreek Area Structure Plan, ASP, was brought before council during the last meeting on August 18.  The ASP is south of the golf course on the west side of Wheatland Trail and land to the east. WestCreek wants to provide a range of housing to suit the needs of Strathmore and its residents. Chief Administrative Officer Dwight Stanford said he thinks everything looks good. There was talk at the meeting of leaving the east side as a wetland. Council unanimously voted to approve the ASP presented by WestCreek. Development is to begin immediately.