Mountain View County council has given first reading to an amending bylaw re-designating the Betchton Community Centre hall property from institutional, educational and cultural district to country residential district.
The move came by way of motion at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
The purpose of the re-designation is to allow a new owner to develop within the parcel, which is located in the Reed Ranch area east of Olds at the junction of Twp. Rd. 334 and Rge. Rd. 283 (SW 27-33-28-4).
The property involved contains an old community centre structure which is not longer in use. The four-acre parcel is owned by Betchton Community Centre 2015 (society).
The county has received a number of letters of objection to the proposed re-designation.
In one letter, residents Andy and Diane Nisbet said, in part, that, “This original land was agriculture land and very good soil. There are an increasing number of acreages in the area and good farm land is becoming used for residential instead of agriculture. More acreages are causing more issues with the farming community in not appreciating the time restrictions of planting and harvest time – complaints of noise, dust, odours, etc.”
In another letter, residents Rick and Val Leibel said, in part, that, “The objective of this society seems to be completely selfish and money driven, with no common sense or concern for the community involves. It is best summed up by a councillor at the Dec. 13 (2017) meeting when stated: ‘It doesn’t matter how much that acreage is sold for and where the money is donated to. It will be forgetten within a year or two. It’s the people that live around there that will be dealing with the consequence of this decision for years to come’.”
In a letter responding to the objections, the society said, in part, that, “The experience of this board, who are all members of this community, is that acreage owners and farmers can live together peaceably and in a way that is mutually beneficial. The members of the Betchton community have voted in favour of selling the property at public auction. This re-designation application has not divided the community. Members within this community choose how they behave and how they treat one another.”
The public hearing for the proposed bylaw amendment will be held in council chambers on Dec. 12.
