SUNDRE – A few dozen residents who live adjacent to the Lions Park on the south side of the Bearberry Creek pedestrian bridge recently received a waiver of appeal for a pump track project proposed by the Sundre Bike n’ Ski Club.
However, the form was intended as a letter of support.
“The letters were meant to be a letter of support rather than waivers of appeal,” Benazir Thaha Valencia, the municipality’s manager of planning and economic development, wrote by email in response to questions.
Not unlike a skate park, a pump track features either a dirt or hard-surface circuit with rollers and banked turns. Originally developed for mountain as well as BMX bikes, the concrete or asphalt constructions paved the way for other users such as skateboarders, roller skaters and bladers, as well as scooters.
Members of the club had previously pitched the project to the municipal council, which in principle expressed support for the pump track but wanted the group to gauge the community’s interest before making any official approvals.
The proposed location is on a municipally-owned property designated as public service, Valencia said on Monday, Feb. 27 at the town office during a follow-up interview.
“This land was probably the best suited for that pump track,” she said, adding the prime target demographic are adolescents and that both the Sundre High School and downtown core are nearby even on foot.
As per its defined use, the parcel has the potential to be developed for the general public for active or passive recreational use, including either all natural or man-made landscaping, she said.
“What they’re intending to do is a permitted use; there is no appeal,” she said, adding the municipality just wants to ensure adjacent neighbours are supportive and that the letter that went out as a waiver of appeal was simply the result of a miscommunication.
“That was a miscommunication to the representatives of the bike and ski club,” said Betty Ann Fountain, senior development officer. “It was to have been reformatted (as a letter of support) with the bike and ski club header on it.”
Fountain also said the municipality had not heard from any residents expressing concerns regarding the erroneously labelled waivers of appeal.
“If one of the adjacent landowners had a concern, we didn’t receive that concern,” she said.
Valencia added the municipality encouraged the club to consider a minimum buy-in of 70 per cent of the adjacent residents.
If in the end there isn’t enough support expressed in favour of the project, she said the municipality would ask the club to reconsider alternate locations. But for the time being, the municipality will work alongside the club’s members to monitor progress as council has expressed support pending the public’s approval.
The club had distributed the documents in advance of an open house to discuss the project at the Sundre Municipal Library on Wednesday, March 8 from 5-7:30 p.m.
Club member Bryan McBain met with municipal staff on Friday, Feb. 24 for clarification on the document’s wording.
“There was some confusion in what appeared to have been generated originally from the town, in that what they had originally provided with guidance on was a waiver of appeal,” McBain told the Albertan during a phone interview.
But a waiver of appeal would only be involved if a land use re-designation was required, he said.
“And that’s not what’s happening, because what we want to build is a pump track in a park,” he said. “And that doesn’t require any re-designation…there’s nothing to appeal because it’s not a change of designation of a piece of land.”
McBain added members of the club planned to again visit all of the property owners with a revised document.
Asked in a separate interview what kind of initial feedback and support from the community the group had received to date, club treasurer Katie Yalte said, “Mixed so far.”
Members of the club have knocked on some doors and are in the process of not only raising awareness about their proposal but also hearing out any concerns expressed from neighbouring landowners, she said.
“We’re so early on in this project that we’re really just looking for input; especially adjacent landowners, but also the community and the county residents,” she said.
“Hopefully this pump track would offer something not only to Sundre but also to the entire area.”
Responding to a question about whether the waiver of appeal had been prepared in coordination with the municipality’s administration, she said, “It came from the town…they provided a copy of that letter verbatim. They said we could change it, but I was worried about changing it and that they wouldn’t accept it, so I kept it exactly as we received it.”
There were 36 letters distributed to landowners near the park, she said.
“They were identified by the town as the adjacent landowners.”
As the proposed pump track for now remains an idea on paper, she said, “It’s going to take a lot more talking to get this project going. We’re just hoping people come and give their input.”
People who attend the open house will get a chance to learn more about pump tracks as well as ask questions or share concerns.
Members of the club had previously pitched the project to the municipal council, which in principle expressed support for the pump track but wanted the group to gauge the community’s interest before making any official approvals.
