Dear Editor,
Over the last three weeks I have been exposed to the process of how approval for a new development takes place in Sylvan. I am a resident of Pierview and recently learned that Lamont Land (the developers of Ryder’s Ridge) are the owners of the property that borders the south side of Pierview and they have been going through the process with the town to develop that property.
Lamont followed due process that the town prescribed by holding an open house in March. At that time they were required only to show high-lighted areas that would be developed on the quarter section, no lot plans were presented. It was at that time that we learned that the high pressure gas lines on that quarter were not right on the south side of the trees as most of us believed but that they came across the quarter on an angle and development was planned for north of the pipeline. They received some concerns from residents but made no changes or concessions.
Town council gave first reading to the development then required them to hold a public hearing. A week or so before the public hearing, residents affected by the development received a letter that contained a detailed drawing of Stage 1 of Crestview which is north of the pipeline to the south border of Pierview. The plan called for all of the trees to be taken out along Pierview and 62 lots to be wedged into that space.
Well, over 50 Pierview residents showed up for the public hearing on June 25th only to find a process that favors the developer. Here’s how it worked:
1. Town planners do a presentation on the proposed development that includes a powerpoint about how wonderful it will be and how all town bylaws have been followed in planning this development. They review the letters from residents they received and summarily dismiss them, generally by hiding behind a bylaw. If they didn’t announce that it was the town planners doing the presentation you would swear it was the developers doing it — they have as much time as they require to do their presentation.
2. The second part of the process is the public hearing part. The public are notified at this point that when they stand to speak they will have only five minutes and if someone has spoken to a concern once there was no need to repeat it by someone else. The invitation we received for the public hearing says it is an “informal” meeting — it turns out to be very formal.
3. The developer now has the chance to do a presentation which is essentially the same presentation as the town planner but they now have the opportunity to answer all of the concerns that were raised by the residents. They also have as much time as they would like to speak.
4. Council then makes a decision based on the information they have.
In the Pierview public hearing council heard very loud and clear that removing the trees along the south side of Pierview was unacceptable and to their credit council committed to save those trees by designating a strip of Municipal Reserve (MR) to separate the two developments. They refused to give the developer direction on how wide the MR must be even though, as residents, we asked for a 12-15 metre buffer so that not only could the trees be saved but a walking path could be built right from 50th Street across the whole quarter and connected into the CP trail system at the east end of Pierview.
Residents met later that week with representatives from Lamont Land at their request to discuss the plan.
They “listened” to our concerns but informed us that they had surveyed the trees and decided that six metres would be enough to get them to the other side and that there was no “economic viability” in giving any more than that.
They also informed us that they had met with the town planners earlier in the day and because it would be considered a “minor change” that there would not be another public hearing required and the decision was solely up to council at this point.
I have heard the expression that developers are like children — they will only rise to your lowest expectation. Lamont made absolutely no concessions above what was required by council from the June 25th public hearing.
Since they planned to shut the residents out of any more input I took the lot plan that Lamont proposed and reworked it with a 12-15m MR. It included fewer lots but significantly larger lots to prove that not only could it be done in the space available but could be done in an economically viable way. I sent this plan to Lamont as well as town council and I also drafted an email that I sent directly to each member of town council that explained how town planners and Lamont planned to hide behind the system to keep residents from speaking to the matter again.
I managed to get on the July 9th council agenda as a delegate and was given 15 minutes on behalf of all Pierview residents to state our case. I presented information from a Mississippi State University study on the protection of the trees and how the 6m MR would give the trees on the south side only a 50/50 chance of survival through the construction process.
I also explained the drawing I had submitted which proved that it could be done responsibly, work economically and provide an excellent opportunity to add to our walking path system in Sylvan. It was interesting that no questions were asked for clarification during any of my presentation.
Once I finished, Lamont was given time to discuss their new plan. They said my plan was not economically viable but were not asked for any proof of that. They suggested that they had made some concessions during this process but had done nothing more than directed by council two weeks earlier. They could not provide a revised drawing of the lot plan and basically said “trust us”, we’ll get you one. There were questions by council and an opportunity for clarification and discussion.
Once they finished then town planners presented the revised plan again and again there was discussion and opportunity for clarification. Planners recommended the revised plan be approved and actually signed off on it without a revised drawing from Lamont being submitted.
Through this process there was no discernible difference between the town planners and Lamont. Planners represented only the interests of Lamont Land and seemed annoyed by the demands of residents and had absolutely no vision of what opportunity they were missing by not providing room for a walking path.
At this point town council had a choice, they could have refused to approve the revised plan and specified a larger MR (we asked for 15m) that would accommodate a walking path, essentially table the decision until more research and planning was done or they could approve the revised plan and accommodate the wishes of Lamont Land and their own planners. After limited debate they chose the second option.
Let me very clear, council did not break any rules and the decision they made was well within their mandate to make but they missed an opportunity, an opportunity to send a message to their own planners to put the residents of Sylvan Lake first, both current and future, and create neighborhoods that are different from other towns. They could have told developers that we will determine the look of the town and will not support profit at all costs from outside interests.
I will give Council full credit for preserving the trees for us, six metres of trees are better than nothing and I do see that as a “win” for Pierview residents but that doesn’t mean it was the best decision in the big picture. 15 metres of MR and a walking path would have been a beautiful addition to the town’s path system and would have created a lot of value for all Sylvan Lakers, not just Pierview and Crestview residents.
I thank Council for the trees but if I had to give them a grade for the big picture view it would be a six — out of a possible 15!
Matt Prete,
Sylvan Lake