Editor: Three Sisters’ ownership is requesting input from the public on what to do with the unfinished golf course, according to the story in the RMO (Feb. 10) entitled Three Sisters Won’t Develop second golf course.
During the time of the PwC Receivership, PwC was proposing residential development on the unfinished golf course they claimed they had no idea about the undermining risks in that area. Local residents consequently commissioned a 23-minute film entitled, Learning from Experience – A History of Development on Three Sisters Undermined Lands and its first screening was Oct. 5 2013 at Elevation Place.
Chris Ollenberger and Jessica Karpat with QuantumPlace Developments, representatives of Three Sisters, were invited to the screening and both attended. We encourage everyone in Canmore to view this film that is on YouYube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ4B0Zb8d2Y
The Three Sisters for Wildlife Facebook page was also a community-created output during the time of the receivership. We invite everyone to follow current events affecting the Three Sisters lands and community members’ thoughts on the page at www.facebook.com/ThreeSistersForWildlife. This is a community-based page for community input.
Local Canmore undermining expert Gerry Stephenson was interviewed in the film and the NRCB Board felt fortunate to have the input from Gerry on these lands. Please note at marker 8:25 in the film Gerry’s quote, “The most dangerous areas, from the point of view for residential development, were considered appropriate for golf courses that first being Stewart Creek and the second being the Three Sisters incomplete golf course.”
Also at marker 11:30 in regard to the unfinished golfcourse, “that area was very heavily undermined in as many as three seams and was mitigated for a golf course, but would not be suitable, certainly not for residences.”
Given the apparent strategic direction of Canmore to grow at all cost, and recent land use decisions, we must have an unequivocal guarantee that referring to the unfinished golf course as the “amendment area” is not a smokescreen for future development.
Mayor Borrowman stated on Nov. 5, 2015 during the Mountain Insider program – about the $600,000+ (still not fixed after 6 years) undermining sinkhole in Three Sisters – “We don’t want to find ourselves in this situation again. We are not going to accept lands, particularly as MR, that become our liability if there is any question at all about the future undermining.”
Some community input on what to do with the unfinished golf course: Let’s be clear – no building of any kind. Clean up the dump site and restore the land to its original state. Keep as a buffer for the existing wildlife corridor. Protect it in perpetuity as a wildlife reserve.
On behalf of Three Sisters For Wildlife,
Kay and Gary Anderson,
Canmore
