Lois Shute letter Re: Saunders Lake Area - Proposed Changes to the Future Land Use Direction

March 3, 2017

Colin Richards,
Leduc County Council,
City of Leduc Council

Re: Saunders Lake Area - Proposed Changes to the Future Land Use Direction:

Thank you for your serious reconsideration of your original proposal and your desire to listen to the stakeholders in this area. Thank you for giving us another opportunity to speak to this issue.

When I sit and look out over Saunders Lake, and read about the value of wetlands to the world, to the balance of nature and to our health and wellbeing, I am very aware of our need to preserve and restore the valuable resource that Saunders lake is for the future of our community.

I can recall mistakes made that have done some damage on this lake over the last 50 to 100 years.
A few examples would be:
- landowners clearing the trees from the hillsides,
- an attempt to drain the lake to make more agricultural land before 1964,
- garbage dumped at dead end roads (later cleaned up by county)
- draining the Leduc sewage into the Saunders Lake via Telford Lake/Telford Creek until early 90's,
- watering cattle directly from the lake until early 2000's,
- huge slabs of concrete dumped into the lake around 1980– still seen in drought years,
- building the landfill right above the lake in 1978.

Some of these errors in judgement have been rectified. Some are being managed reasonably. But this is not a time to add more stress to the wetland by putting industrial development still so close to the lake. Yes, you are putting precautions in place to protect the environment, but I believe this is not enough. Industrial areas tend to deteriorate, not improve with use over the long term. Think 50 years!

Residential development combines well with recreational use of land. I recall a proposal in Edmonton some years ago for the city to buy up houses to make a park in the river valley in Riverdale. It was found that hikers and nature lovers avoided areas where there were no residents, because of the possible danger of unsupervised trails. Where houses are nearby, people felt more comfortable walking. The proposal was abandoned and Riverdale never did become an abandoned park. It is a thriving community.

I would like to see the County actively promote residential development rather than just passively a The County could seek out a developer who would be interested in building environmentally sustainable, earth friendly houses for families back from a green zone along Saunders Lake. I know several families who would love to live out here and are actively looking for an opportunity.

We have not been actively seeking development in this area ourselves, but I believe the time is right. The revenue is needed and the wetland is being threatened. We need to do what is best. Industrial development is irreversible. Let's not give in to the big corporate developers offering us revenue but more interested in their own profit. Do what is best for the community if the future.

Sincerely
Lois Shute