It appears two Lake Country parks will receive a boost to the tune of $300,000 after a public hearing in Lake Country laid out plans to increase the Lakes development by 12 lots in an area that was originally set aside for parkland.
There weren’t any members of the public that appeared at the hearing on Tuesday night in Lake Country as council heard plans for a phased development agreement. The proposal will see the developer of the Lakes turn a 1.9 hectare area from proposed parkland into another phase of development at the Lakes.
Under the application, the developer will be allowed to build the 12 new lots while handing over the appraised value of the land to the district for use to improve already existing parks (Apex and Shoreline) in the Lakes.
“As we are moving through the parks and recreation master planning process, we’ll be looking at engaging the community as to how best to use the money,” said Greg Bucholz, Lake Country’s director of infrastructure services. “$300,000 is a significant sum to work with to enhance the parks so for sure this will be put to good use.”
The land the new lots will be built on was appraised at $354,000. In addition to the $300,000 cash, the developer will also use $27,000 to build a new parking lot in the new phase that will allow residents better access to the Spion Kop hiking trails.
A further $27,000 has already been spent on a series of banner poles that were to be used for marketing the Lakes but for which will now be dedicated to Lake Country for community programming purposes.
Council must still finally approve the changes to the Official Community Plan and the zoning amendment before the developer can apply for a subdivision to start construction of the new lots.
