Residents of the Hubman Landing area in Canmore have sent a message to town council regarding a proposed off-leash dog park in their neighbourhood – if approved, they're probably taking them to court.
Residents of the Hubman Landing area in Canmore have sent a message to town council regarding a proposed off-leash dog park in their neighbourhood – if approved, they're probably taking them to court.
Two lawyers, Brian Hennings of Warren Benson Amantea LLP and Mark Schulz with DD West LLP, appeared as a delegation at the Sept. 19 regular council meeting.
Hennings and Schulz told council approximately 30 residents of the Three Sisters Mountain Village neighbourhood retained them to express their concerns about the proposed park.
“Those individuals, our clients, have purchased those properties with a real mind toward preserving that amenity and keeping that place relatively intact to what it is today,” Hennings said. “They would appreciate not seeing a significant change to that.”
Schulz and Hennings told council to be sure to keep a proper record of the decision being made, to ensure all documents needed are available should it go to judicial review at the Court of Queen's Bench.
“It is fundamental and crucial that the record before council today and on Oct. 3 is complete, fulsome, accurate and fully represents the concerns of everyone affected by this decision,” Hennings said.
Councillor Sean Krausert, also a lawyer, expressed concern that the presentation made to council is out of line with the process. Krausert pointed out council has not yet been asked to make a decision on the location of proposed off-leash parks yet.
“Quite honestly, nothing (in your presentation) has not been presented by your clients and neighbours already,” he said. “It seems to me I will not get this half hour back, because I have not learned anything new.”
Hennings went over the specific concerns of the resident of the proposed park, which is one of three off-leash dog parks being considered for the community.
The parks are being proposed as a result of recommendations in the Human Use Management Review and an Alberta Parks remote camera study in Canmore's wildlife corridors that found an alarming rate of human use in what are supposed to be areas set aside and protected for wildlife movement.
What was of even more concern to wildlife biologists with the results, was that not only was 94 per cent of the activity inside corridors related to humans, but many had dogs with them and, of those, 60 per cent were off leash.
The proposed off-leash dog park is not located inside a designated corridor, and is being proposed as an amenity to encourage dog walkers in that neighbourhood to use it, instead of illegally walking dogs off-leash inside designated corridors, according to prior reports to council.
“This area is a wildlife corridor in our minds,” Schulz said. “We are looking for a study to help us support this observation of our clients. It would be such an obstruction of that area it works against the principle to reduce the number of interactions between dogs, humans and animals.”
The statement by the Calgary lawyer did not go over well with Mayor John Borrowman, who reminded the large audience of residents gathered for the meeting that wildlife corridors, except for one, have distinct locations and this particular site is not inside one.
“This is simply not a wildlife corridor,” said the mayor. “Corridors are well established and residents know where they are and the full intent of establishing a controlled off-leash area here is to reduce the possibility of conflict with wildlife.”
Borrowman told the two lawyers that community input is being received by council from those who oppose and those who support the proposed park location. He said he has heard those messages and council will take all information into consideration when making its decision, which is expected at the Oct. 3 meeting.
“I really do not see the added benefit of having lawyers address council to represent them.”
Hennings drew attention to the issue of parking, setbacks from neighbouring residences, increased noise and the loss of an amenity for residents.
“Specifically with regard to traffic and access, we believe we have to make well aware to you that the proposed site does not provide space for allotted parking or any sort of use related to parking,” he said. “My understanding is it relies substantially on adjacent parking in the residential community.”
The off-leash dog park in the Hubman Landing neighbourhood is one of three proposed. The other two are located near Spring Creek Mountain Village and Palliser Lane – neither included the provision of parking. Residents that attended input sessions on all three parks expressed concerns related to what they perceived as negative impacts from it.
Hennings expressed concern that those using the dog park amenity would, as a result, park in the neighbourhood.
As well, the Open Spaces and Trails master plan, he pointed out, includes a recommendation that off-leash parks be setback 150 metres from residential uses.
“The site proposed abuts five properties immediately adjacent with no setbacks and 30 homes fall within a 120-metre setback,” he said.
