During its regularly scheduled meeting on August 21, Red Deer County council OK'd a proposal to subdivide 2.02 ha of a 64.7 ha portion of Agricultural District land bounded by Twp Rd. 374 to the south and Rge. Road 12 to the west.While some county staff described the matter as a routine planning issue, council members discussed the importance of selecting building site locations carefully when deciding to further develop farmland in the spirit of the county's municipal development plan.“If we make a subdivision it lasts forever,” said Div. 4 Coun. David Hoar. “I think we have the responsibility to make sure we do it right.”The segment granted for subdivision was offset slightly to the east from the southwest corner of the larger agricultural land quadrant, according to planning documents considered in council.“There was slough areas, tree areas, and there was farmland,” said Curtis Herzberg, Manager, Red Deer County, describing the original bare parcel. “You're not going to subdivide it and turn it into anything else than a building site.”The topography of the land is central to subdivision boundary choices, he added.“Preservation of agricultural lands becomes important,” he said.Even though the county would prefer to have new builds focused within corners of bare parcels, Mayor Jim Wood said given the preference of the landowner the area selected for subdivision was suitable.“It still fit the guidelines,” he said. “It was located in an appropriate place.”CAMPGROUND BEING BROUGHT BACK TO LIFEMeanwhile, to help developers bring the A-Soo-Wuh-Um campground back to life, council held a public hearing and agreed to remove municipal reserve zoning designation from an area of land within the Red Deer River flood plain.The campground is west of Penhold.The county has already agreed to lease the leisure area, closed to overnight use after 2005 flooding, to Chris Demers and Craig Masley long-term for the purpose of rehabilitating it.“We realized in the meantime the parcel of land was zoned municipal reserve and municipal reserve cannot be rented out,” said Mayor Wood. “We needed to change it to the appropriate designation in order for it to be a campground again.”With a shortage of overnight leisure site locations in the province, getting A-Soo-Wuh-Um up and running will prove a benefit to campers, said Herzberg, adding the county is focused on making sure access to the Red Deer River is maintained for all.“Anyone who tries to go camping in the province just fights for a camping spot,” he said. “There's a demand. There really is.”NO CONCERNS RAISED OVER PRIVATE SCHOOL PLANIn other county news, no concerns were raised at a public hearing regarding plans for a private school, associated church, cemetery, playground and parking lot along 20 Street in Spruce View.“The Mennonite church wanted to have a school and a church in this community,” said Wood. “They are in the process of making the application.”Council unanimously agreed to grant second reading to the application, which would re-designate 8.68 ha of Agricultural District land as Public Service District land.As one of the county's high-growth areas, development in this area makes sense, said Hoar.“If we are to get urban development this is where it would happen,” he said.
