Criticizing politicians is easy, but actually being in the hot seat making hard decisions certainly is not.
Sundre council faced during its Dec. 14 meeting a few dozen people who came to show their support for the Valley Mobile Home Park owners' application to amend the land use bylaw to allow the park as a permitted use in a flood fringe industrial district.
Local lawyer Laura Skorodenski spoke on behalf of Blair and Gloria Jensen, and presented their case to council and administration staff.
She raised some valid concerns, chiefly that the issue "is the result of a representation made by the town to my client. Whether that representation was a mistake on the town's behalf or not is not relevant. Had the town not made the representation it did, the Jensens would not have invested in the mobile home park.î
However, to be fair to council, the property was purchased in 2004, several terms ago. What happened then was certainly not a decision made by today's elected officials. Of course that doesn't wipe the slate clean, as the owners and residents of the park have every right to have their concerns heard, and the council of today finds itself dealing with an issue created by a past council.
Unfortunately, the issue is not so cut and dry that the decision to approve the application for a bylaw amendment to allow the park as a permitted use can be made lightly or quickly.
There are many considerations, and as Coun. Paul Isaac put it, council found itself in a "no-win situation.î
Whatever the council at the time the property was sold approved, the present administration and council are concerned about the potential for flooding, the risk of fire quickly spreading through the trailer park and the issue of having residential properties in an industrial zone, he said.
Administration pointed out that while building in a flood fringe is legal, the practice is not recommended. There are some requirements involved, such as raising the land or having in place certain engineering standards, said Angie Lucas, director of planning and operational services. But the one major issue that sticks out from the rest is whether the town wants to alter the capacity of the industrial area to not be as successful by having residential use permitted right in the middle of it.
"That, to me, is the crux of the problem here,î she said.
"You're asking us to bypass those statements,î said Isaac, addressing the crowd. "It's a no-win situation no matter what we do.î
Council struggled to come up with a decision after almost two hours, defeating two motions ó including one to approve the application ó before finally passing a motion to refuse the application.
"We don't want to make an arbitrary decision that down the road might cause more problems,î mayor Terry Leslie told the Round Up the day after the meeting.
That's a commendable position to take ó making tough, unpopular decisions today beats passing on more problems down the line.
