Travers Landing developers certainly have all their i’s dotted and t’s crossed, says Vulcan County’s reeve. Ian Donovan said the group is as organized as he’s seen after he and the rest of council listened to a presentation at the a recent council meeting and looked over a glossy presentation booklet. “It helps (that the group is organized),” said Donovan last week. “As a county, we want developers who have their facts together and knowledge in place.” The group has put some money into planning and developing the Travers Landing proposal, he said. They didn’t come in with a scrap of paper, Donovan said. Travers Landing would, after several phases, include 750 lots, a private marina and boat and an indoor swimming pool. A golf course could also be located within the development. The development would be a huge addition to the County’s tax base, Donovan said. But the issue is whether the resources can handle that many people living there, said the reeve. “If they don’t have water, they don’t have much,” he said. The County is not opposed to development, but it has to be done at the right pace, said Donovan. He raised several safety issues during a discussion with the Advocate. The number of boats on Travers will increase significantly with the developers’ proposal of adding a private marina and boat launch. And the nine-kilometre stretch from the corner of the Little Bow Provincial Park to the development should be paved, not gravel, he said. With much more traffic coming down a secondary highway, the province should pay for it to be paved, said Donovan. “For the safety of ratepayers it needs to be done,” he said. The province put down tree sap last year to keep the dust down and has agreed to do so again this year, said Donovan. Larry Paterson, who spoke to council of behalf of the developers, said the group felt its meeting with council went well. “There’s a good opportunity for a development like this in the area,” said Paterson, a Calgary-based landscape architect. Paterson added the developers believe there is a “pent-up demand” for a development like theirs. The condo units will be competitively priced, he said. The group was waiting for council’s feedback. Open houses are expected to take place soon.

Crystal Blue developers

Wednesday April 09, 2008
Crystal Blue Developments is waiting for Alberta Environment for approval of its water licence, says Mark Hasegawa, engineer for the project. The proposed project, which would border Lake McGregor, would house 432 single-family houses on quarter-acre lots and include plenty of amenities. The water licence would be transferred from an existing licence roughly 20-30 kilometres away, said Hasegawa on Friday.
“That’s the main thing we’re waiting on right now,” he said. Alberta Environment is reviewing the application to transfer the licence. “We expect everything to come back thumbs up,” he said. The developers should hear by the end of April whether the application to transfer the water licence has been successful, he said.