Council approved a redesignation application for 10 acres of land located south of Cochrane and 1.5 kilometres west of Highway 22, Jan. 22.
Cheryl Tycholis, who owns the land located in Tower Ridge Estates, wants to redesignate a fifth of her 50-acre parcel, which is home to a riding arena, outdoor paddocks and horse shelters, from Ranch and Farm District to Residential Three District and Ranch and Farm Two District.
The parcel would provide a buffer between the existing residential parcels and the riding arena, she said.
The proposed lot will be serviced by a new groundwater well, which caused concern from neighbours who said the area has limited groundwater supply.
The application first went before council on Oct. 23 and was tabled with Councillor Liz Breakey requesting a full engineering report on the groundwater wells in the area. It was tabled again Dec. 4 after a concern was raised that several of the wells in the immediate area were not considered in the report. The hearing was recessed until the additional information could be provided.
Residents attended the public hearing once again, Jan. 22. Valerie Wilson a resident spoke in support of the application.
“This lady has the right to subdivide her land just as everyone else,” she said.
Resident Don Kochen spoke against the application. He said he’s lived in the area for 16 years and said during one particularly dry period in the past, water had to be trucked in. He expressed concern for what effect the well would have on the water supply in the area.
Tycholis was able to rebut this statement and said a water report she conducted for the Jan. 21 meeting, indicated more than adequate amounts of water for her proposed well.
After the rebuttal period, resident Hugh Blair stood up and requested to speak. Council agreed to let him talk, even though the portion of the hearing where people opposed can speak had passed.
Blair said a more extensive plan needs to be prepared and waved a Harmony Development brochure in the air as an example of what needed to be created.
Tycholis pointed out she is a family operation wanting to subdivide 10 acres of land and not a land developer such as Harmony.
When council began to ask staff questions of concern, Blair again tried to come back up to the microphone with a letter. Reeve Rolly Ashdown told him he needed to sit down or he would be asked to leave. Blair put on his jacket and started speaking with staff and Ashdown had to call a five minute break. Blair left, and the hearing resumed. When asked by council how to ensure there would be adequate water to supply the area, Byron Riemann, general manager for infrastructure and operations at the County, said the phase two water report would include drilling a well to test water levels. He said that would happen during the subdivision approval stage.
“I am very sensitive to the amount of opposition on file,” said Councillor Margaret Bahcheli, but said because more information could be discovered during the subdivision stage, she would support approval.
Councillors Breakey and Kim Magnuson were opposed. Breakey said there was too much opposition for her to show her support. Magnuson said she still felt there were questions about the subdivision and water issues that needed to be addressed.
