To: Cory Labrecque, Manager
Long Range Planning
City of Leduc
780-980-8435
clabrecque@leduc.ca
Cc: Colin Richards
Senior Planner
Leduc County
County Centre
Suite 101,1101 5th Street,
Nisku, Ab
T9E 2X3
colin@leduc-county.com
Leduc County Mayor and Council
http://www.leduc-county.com/contact (online form) or
Lynn White, Executive Assistant
Council/Administration
Lynn@leduc-county.com
Leduc County Mayor
John Whaley
johnw@leduc-county.com
Leduc County Council, Division Three
John Schonewille
john@leduc-county.com
City of Leduc,
Mayor Greg Krischke
mayor@leduc.ca
City of Leduc,
Councillor Terry Lazowski
Infrastructure & Planning Liaison On City Council
tlazowski@leduc.ca
City of Leduc,
Councillor Beverly Beckett
Infrastructure & Planning Liaison On City Council
bbeckett@leduc.ca
From: Ken G. Brown, a concerned long term resident of Leduc County, next to Saunders Lake
Re: Saunders Lake Area –
2nd Public Hearing: Proposed Bylaw to Amend the Leduc County - City of Leduc Intermunicipal Development Plan, Bylaw No. 933-2016
Dear Cory Labrecque,
I used to think that one's current situation in life was as a sum total result of one's past upbringing, past environments, experiences and mistakes. So I thought that my past determined my present. Then I learned the concept that if I get a very clear picture of my desired future, it is easy then, to decide today what to do to more directly get to that desired future. I learned a better way to think about things: my desired future determines my present.
This concept relates perfectly to our current Planning & Development challenge: what we decide to do today is determined by our collective desired future.
Do we as a society want to pay close attention to the quality of our air, water and soil in order to survive far into the future? Do we want to have clean drinkable water free of toxins in our lakes and creeks and rivers forever? Do we want to be able to view the amazing night sky free of light pollution? Do we want wildlife to be able to live with us in harmony, able to roam as they choose and live in peace? Do we want to preserve special natural areas such as the Saunders Lake Valley as a shining example of the care we have taken in planning for our future?
Or do we want to plan our desired collective future to model unbridled industrial growth?
This except from my letter of July 16, 2016 (attached) regarding the proposed changes at Saunders Lake states as well as I am able:
" The proposed further significant industrial developments -so close to the Saunders Lake Valley, will certainly result in degradation of the quality of the air, water, and soil in the area, doing irreparable harm. To do so is in total opposition to the accepted vision statements in the many existing planning documents pertaining to the area, and is not in the best interests of our future as a community for future generations. Once the area's ecological vibrancy and its Naturalness is gone it cannot be brought back. It is gone forever. The areas we are concerned with would be far better set aside as a parkland reserve with recreational features, or with designated residential access to the valley, rather than to industrial development."
It is easy to see with any small amount of research, that there is no need for all the excessive amount of lighting or light pollution that is currently the norm.
From Aug 6, 2015 report: http://www.treehugger.com/urban-design/new-research-streetlights-dont-actually-reduce-crime-or-accidents.html
"In Britain, three quarters of a million street lights have been turned off to save energy, money and maintenance. One would think that this would have affected car and pedestrian safety, as well as crime; however, Alissa Walker of Gizmodo points to a recent study that shows that it made very little difference, if any. Eric Betz of Astronomy.com (who has a vested interest in people turning out the lights) looks at research from University of London:
Researchers looked at 14 years of data from 63 local authorities across England and Wales, searching for trends among agencies that reduced their lighting….That research shows less than 1 percent of all nighttime traffic collisions occurred on streets where the lights had been switched off. And overall, the statistics showed no link between accidents and dimming, reducing, or changing the style of streetlights. Secondly, the researchers looked at lighting's effect on crime trends. In regions of reduced lighting, they found, there was no increase in burglary, auto theft, robbery, violence, or sexual assault."
My opinions of the proposed changes have not changed substantially since my letter of July 16, 2016, (attached).
Ken G. Brown, BScEE,
Local County resident
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