Recreational Development on South Side of Nakamun Drive

[Mark Miller]

This message is a “call to action” for the residents of Nakamun Park regarding the letter that we recently received from Lac Ste Anne County informing us of a request to allow recreational development on the south side of Nakamun Drive, from the very east end of the village through to the west end.

The letter and all available documentation are available here if you have not received it:
Letter from County
FOIP Application
Location Sketch 1
Location Sketch 2
Location Sketch 3
Redistricting Application

This request was submitted by a company called Masse Properties and they have been attempting to develop a very large seasonal trailer park on the south side of Nakamun Drive for a number of years now. We have been successful in convincing the county to reject previous applications to allow the development of a recreational facility, however the developer has come back to county council once again requesting that the land be redistricted to allow for recreational development. The developer has tried to convince the public that his goals are to provide people with access to enjoy nature, however the below Kijiji ad for the same property makes it appear much more like he has profit on his mind:
Kijiji Ad
If you work out the numbers in the ad, he is attempting to sell the property for $6.24M (160 acres at $39K/acre).

In order to stop this application for recreational development on the land in question, we will need a combined effort of the Summer Village council and residents letting Lac Ste Anne Council know our concerns. The ones that readily come to mind are:
– overuse of Nakamun Lake (which is small and environmentally fragile),
– use of our private village boat dock and Nakamun Drive,
– increase in crime due to seasonal use of the facilities,
– devaluation of our property,
– interruption of our small and peaceful community with transient campers,
– concerns with how water, septic, and waste services will be provided.

As a council, we are urging every resident to:
1) Write a letter ASAP to Lac Ste Anne County office informing them of your concerns, the addresses are:
Mr. Matthew Ferris
Planning and Development Manager
Lac Ste Anne County
Box 219
Sangudo, AB T0E 2A0
Email: mferris@lsac.ca

Ms. Diane Burtnick
Development Officer
Lac Ste Anne County
Box 219
Sangudo, AB T0E 2A0
Email: dburtnick@lsac.ca

Phone: 780-785-3411
Fax: 780-785-2359

Ideally, you should send your letter to both contacts (email or postal mail) and also fax it into the office. Also – the deadline for sending your letters in is Aug 29.

2) Attend the public hearing in Sangudo on Sept 3 at 10am. The address is:
Council Chambers, Lac Ste Anne County Office
#4928 Langston Street, Hamlet of Sangudo

As your summer village council, we are working on developing a presentation and written response to this zoning request that we will be providing to Lac Ste Anne county council.

If this property developer is successful in his application to develop recreational properties as he is planning, this will significantly (and negatively) impact the quality of the lake, our community, and way of life here. Please take the time now to do your part in trying to stop it.

If you write a letter to council and are willing to have it posted on our web site, please send it to me at mark.miller@svnakamun.com and I will post it (and I encourage everyone to do this).

Regards,
Summer Village of Nakamun Park Council

• This topic was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by Mark Miller.

[Mark Miller]

Update – I have included email addresses for the county contacts and noted that letters must be sent by Aug 29.

[Mark Miller]

Letter from local resident:

Mr. Ferris / Ms. Burtnick,

I am sending this note in response to the proposed rezoning of the parcels of land indicated in the subject line.

As a landowner in the S.V. of Nakamun Park I am deeply concerned about the possibility of the land being rezoned as a change will surely create the development of a multi parcel recreational facility near the lake.

This is a major concern because:
– Due to the small size of Nakamun Lake, any significant development such as this will negatively impact the environment surrounding the lake and the lake itself due to potential overuse.
– Reduction of the value of the land for the current owners in the Village and surrounding areas due to potential overcrowding on the lake and streets in the Summer months.
– Potential for an increase in crime and noise due to seasonal usage of this proposed development
– Safety on the Village streets will be compromised due to increased traffic (we have already installed speed bumps to deal with an already existing problem)

Please consider these points when making your decision.

Thank you.

Derek Schaaf

[Mark Miller]

Letter from local resident:

Mr. Ferris / Ms. Burtnick,

This is in response to the proposal for rezoning regarding parcel(s) of land above.

My wife and I are long term residents of Nakamun and have had quiet enjoyment of the lake for many years, as have our 3 children who have enjoyed the year round tranquility of the Summer village.

This proposal is extremely concerning and upsetting to us.

Regional lakes everywhere are under pressure from several issues including Phosphate loading, see Lake Erie issue very prevalent in today`s news, the spread of noxious weeds, certainly a concern for Nakamun, irresponsible boat use including, fuelling and safe operation. These are only a few of the very public concerns in the news, not to mention the related issues, Blue Green algae proliferation, halting swimming, and water consumption from many lakes in Alberta, boat safety issues, lake pollution and contamination.

We have seen rapid expansion of the development of existing properties, expansion of the Nakamun Bible camp and growing use of the lake from non-residents, both Summer for boating use and winter, when Ice fishing has possible from time to time. Without doubt the lake is already a tipping point for use. We already observed the loss of fish population 3 times in 10 years(Dissolved Oxygen levels are again at a level that will not support fish populations), a stark reduction in Purple Martin populations, large fluctuations in Pelican, Canada Goose, and Seagull populations, all likely due to water level quality and consistency over the past decade.

Add to this the concern of road safety, vandalism, theft, noise, and the inevitable of loss of quiet enjoyment that follows with any type of development such as is being described, and you have highly concerned owners.

We are very much in this category. We cannot support this request and further implore you to bring the full weight of these concerns forward at the next meeting of this subject.

Thank you in advance for listening to our concerns.

[Mark Miller]

Letter from local resident:

August 20, 2013

Ms. Diane Burtnic:
I am writing you with concerns of the project Masse Properties is proposing regarding the rezoning of his property on the south side of Nakamun Drive on the outskirts of the Summer Village of Nakamun Park. (REDISTRICTING APPLICATION 001REDST2014)

My concerns are as follows:
1. The Environment. How is Masse Properties going to accommodate recreational trailers with water and septic dumping services? How many lots will be developed? Will they have their own roads or will they have to access the park from our road? What about the land right away for utilities? How is that affected?
2. The Village has just put in a new boat launch with the tax payers money. If the rezoning goes into effect, how do we stop the campers from using our private launch? They do not have to pay for any upkeep and may not treat it with the respect it should be. Our lake is very small and cannot handle much more boat traffic. Will we have to put in a bylaw for the size of motors allowed on the lake?
3. The noise level will increase and there are young families as well as retired couples who live here full time. I for one live here full-time and have come to accept the summer noise and traffic but with a recreational property nearby, it will only increase.
4. The Village owns and maintains our main road, Nakamun Drive, and have recently installed speed bumps to keep the speed down from trucks, farmers, etc from using the road as a bypass route. This has worked very well and the decrease in traffic keeps the streets safer for the residents as well as their pets.
5. Crime rate. At the moment we have a very low crime rate and everyone feels safe here. With the size of our village we all know and recognize each other. This is one of the reasons I personally moved from the city.
6. Property value. Our property value will decrease. Right now we own a little piece of heaven in a very small and quiet community, where everyone knows everyone else. With the recreation property that is proposed, our property value will decrease significantly.
7. Greed. The owner of this property is trying to sell the property on Kijji before the rezoning has even been completed. He says he wants to develop it but he is already listing it to sell at a huge profit.

These are my concerns. I hope you will reply with answers to my questions with in a timely matter or reconsider granting The Masse Properties the rezoning they are asking for.

Sincerely,

Laureen Miller

[Mark Miller]

Letter from local resident:

I have owned property for 25 years at Nakamun Park. Prior to that, my husband and I rented a cabin for 2 months in the summer and spent summer vacation with our children. Currently, 2 of our 3 children own property at Nakamun Park because they enjoyed the village so much growing up.

I recently purchased a cabin and have spent some precious time there enjoying “God’s choir”, the beautiful loons, geese and the peace and tranquility of this wonderful getaway property.
I have grandchildren that absolutely love being at the lake and would rather live there instead of going back to the city.

I am shocked and sickened by the fact that some selfish money hungry heartless individual disrespects the freedom and serenity of the established residents of this village and of all those who come to visit and appreciate having friends or family to enjoy here as well.
I retired this spring and am looking forward to spending quality time with my children and grandchildren in a peaceful and trusted environment and will do everything in my power to deny this developer access for his selfish and ruthless endeavour.

Irene Lopushinsky

[Mark Miller]

Letter from resident – click here.

[Mark Miller]

Letter from resident:

Mr. Matthew Ferris
Planning & Development Manager
Lac Ste. Anne County

Ms. Diane Burtnick
Development Officer
Lac Ste. Anne County

This letter is in reference to proposed redistricting legal land:
S.E. 34-56-02-W5M and S.W. 34-56-02-W5M.

We feel that allowing the development of this property to include recreational development will have a negative impact on the Summer Village of Nakamun Park and on Lake Nakamun.

Our concerns include increased traffic on Nakamun Drive as boaters gain access to the private village boat launch, a decrease in property values and an increase in crime due to the transient nature of campers.

Lake Nakamun is a small lake which may have already reached usage capacity, introducing more users will surely have a negative impact on the quality of the lake.

We urge county council to reject this proposal.

Sincerely,

Bill and Dyann Brooks
5555 Nakamun Drive
Nakamun Park, AB

[Mark Miller]

Letter from resident – click here.

[Mark Miller]

Letter from resident:

August 25th, 2014

Mr. Matthew Ferris
Planning & Development Manager
Lac Ste. Anne County

Ms. Diane Burtnick
Development Officer
Lac Ste. Anne County

This letter is in reference to proposed redistricting legal land:
S.E. 34-56-02-W5M and S.W. 34-56-02-W5M.

We are expressing our concerns and are opposed to the rezoning of #16-08 to commercial recreation.

A recreational development will negatively impact the quality of Lake Nakamun which is at its maximum already. Lake Nakamun is fragile, with increasing weeds/green algae, three fish kills in the past 10 years. Increasing usage will definitely affect the lake and reduce the ability to sustain. The wild life, streams and ponds and the run off will also be affected with increased activity.

Further concerns include the increase traffic, noise, private boat launch use, vandalism and safety for us and the next generation.

We encourage the County of Lac Ste. Anne to take a close look at the environmental impact this would have and REJECT THIS PROPOSAL.

STRONGLY OPPOSED

Regards,

Adrianus & Louise Boelee
5551A Nakamun Drive
Nakamun Park, AB

[Mark Miller]

Letter from resident, click here.

[Mark Miller]

Letter from resident, click here.

[Mark Miller]

I got a great suggestion from a local resident today, we should call Alberta Environment and express our concerns regarding the Masse development plans. She called them and the feedback from AB environment was very good, they were going to open a file and contact the officer for our area.

I urge all residents to contact Alberta Environment and express your concerns, their number is 1-800-222-6514. If you do call them, please let me know that you did so that I can relay to county council what we have done to stop this development (send me an email to mark.miller@svnakamun.com).

[Mark Miller]

Letter from resident, click here.

[Mark Miller]

Letter from resident, click here.

[Author]

Posts