Residents in Acme have been prompted to challenge village council after a decision to rezone a lot located on Prospect Avenue. According to adjacent homeowner and former councillor Leona DeKoter, the lot has been used as a park for as long as residents can remember.
“In the early 80s, they subdivided the west side of Prospect Avenue for housing development, but they did not develop this area that has been a park,” DeKoter said. “At that time, the Village was maintaining the park, which was owned by the school district.”
DeKoter said her research indicated the Village’s ownership of the park didn’t begin until 2002, leading DeKoter to believe there must have been an understanding between the Village and school district to maintain the lot for public use.
Despite this history, DeKoter said she woke up to see a realtor’s sign posted in the park across the street on Easter weekend in 2010.
“Apparently, the mayor at the time had gone into the Village Office and told the CAO to call a realtor and list the park for sale,” DeKoter said. “It had never been discussed, so it was very weird that the mayor thought he had the right to do so without ever bringing it to the public.”
According to DeKoter, the community responded with protest, and nothing was done with the land again until June 2014 when a public meeting was held to rezone the park from public use to residential use. The bylaw was passed despite opposition and residents immediately started a petition to reverse the resolution.
Despite the petition containing the signatures of 207 of the approximately 400 electors in the community, DeKoter said council consulted a lawyer who argued the bylaw was “not petitionable.”
“When you have more than half of your electors willing to sign a petition saying they don’t want you to do this, stop it,” said DeKoter. “But they didn’t listen to that, or the angry people at the public meeting. They claim kids don’t play in that park, which just isn’t true.”
Another claim is the land was initially purchased with the intent to develop it, DeKoter said. She argued, based on her own research, the funding for the land came from the Acme and District Agricultural Society, and the entire property is covered by a utility right-of-way from 1933.
“Currently, you can’t build on that land,” she said. “It is possible to remove (the utility right-of-way), but it’s an extremely expensive process requiring a court order. Why are they wanting to spend this money on a lot we want to stay a park?”
She added, if future development of residential properties on the lot remains consistent with the rest of the development in the neighbourhood, the lot will only be able to accommodate two homes – and would require the additional expense of installing water and wastewater lines to service the lot.
This isn’t the first time the community has questioned the actions of their village council. According to DeKoter, a petition was submitted to Municipal Affairs (MA) following a “sketchy” auction for a tax recovery property, which was purchased in July 2014 by the village’s deputy mayor.
“There’s been a number of issues that have gone on in Acme in the last year or so,” said Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Bruce Rowe. “I think people are really upset that this is happening and nobody seems to be able to get their head around exactly why.”
According to DeKoter, one condition of the sale required the buyer to demolish the buildings on the property within six months, however, an extension was granted to the deputy mayor at a council meeting in late December 2014.
Representatives from MA conducted a preliminary review on Jan. 2, and DeKoter said council “immediately” reversed the bylaw to rezone the park. Council also reversed the sale of the tax property on Jan. 26 – the day after the property burned down in a fire that, according to DeKoter, is currently being investigated as arson.
According to Acme’s CAO Brad Mason, complaints about the rezoning bylaw led to a review of the process undertaken by administration. He said there were “errors made” in process, and in late January, council was made aware of these errors.
“They were acting entirely on their own, knowing things were wrong and trying to re-do it the right way,” DeKoter said. “The timing there is pretty interesting. And now we have a burned-out shell of a building that will go back for auction in a tax recovery sale.”
The reversal of the park bylaw, though, provided a second opportunity for residents to oppose the proposal. And this time, said DeKoter, there was more time to organize an effective strategy.
To spread the word throughout the community that the proposed rezoning would be presented at a public meeting on Feb. 23, DeKoter put up a sign on her front lawn advertising the event. She said that her attempt to encourage her neighbors to express their opposition was quashed.
“The sign didn’t say anything inflammatory or wrong, and it was on private property, but it hadn’t even been up for ten minutes before we had bylaw here, wanting us to take it down,” DeKoter said. “They claim they got a call, but there’s no way.”
DeKoter said she hopes that MA will make a decision on further investigation into village council within the next few weeks – and that it will proceed before any more “damage” is done to the community.
“It’s a mess here,” she said. “And you do get that in a small town, but there’s way too much going on here. There are laws governing how council may act, and it’s important we follow that to prevent people from using the position for personal gain. People say, ‘it’s just Acme, and we’ve always done things this way,’ but – since when does the law not apply in Acme?”
MA Press Secretary Matthew Grant said that in the past five years, MA has only undertaken a total of 20 inspections throughout the province, but was unsure of how many valid petitions are received. According to Grant, Acme should receive a reply from MA in the “not-so-distant future” regarding the preliminary review.
“I think there should be (an investigation),” Rowe said. “There are so many questions that are being unanswered. If council is confident that they’ve done nothing wrong, then let’s do it and clear the air and carry on. These guys have got three years left to go on their term, and if they want any peace and quiet they need to get this matter cleared up.”
DeKoter said the public meeting on Feb. 23 was attended by more than 40 residents, including Rowe. According to DeKoter, seven letters were received opposing the proposal, and five residents spoke against it at the meeting. She added three people were present to voice their support.
“Two of those people were mayors at one point, who claimed the land was purchased with the intent of developing it,” she said. “They also brought up the argument that no one uses it, but that’s just not true.”
Despite all of the opposition, the bylaw did receive first reading at the meeting. However, rather than proceeding to second and third reading, Mason said council requested he do further research into the proposed development – including a cost-benefit analysis and a business plan, as well as an investigation into the utility right-of-way. Mason will present the report to council at their April 27 meeting.
While Deputy Mayor Dennis Kuiken declined to speak with Rocky View Weekly, Mason said according to Kuiken, council’s motivation to proceed with the rezoning despite the community’s opposition is to open up more lots in an “established neighbourhood.”
“Right now, there are no available residential lots, so they are looking to create some,” Mason said. “This area is next to schools and in close proximity to downtown, offering a great opportunity to sell.”
According to Rowe, however, Acme already has approximately 20 subdivided lots on the northeast end of town. He added that area is already serviced and ready to be developed.
“They are certainly within their rights (to rezone the park), but I don’t understand why a council would proceed when there is this much backlash on it,” he said. “I wish there was a rational reason for it, but I sure can’t come up with one.”
DeKoter said she hopes that with the community’s petition and the support of Rowe and MA, Acme’s village council will change their mind about the Prospect Avenue park.
“I just want a nice, quiet town, and I don’t want to lose this park,” said DeKoter. “This is the only park with mature trees, and it’s a main reason why I bought this house. I use it with my family all the time, to play badminton, to go lawn bowling.”
