Dear editor:
Dear Editor,
As is true of most stories, there are usually two sides.
In regard to the article written by Lindsay Seewalt July 17 titled ‘Cochrane Lake residents wade through flood waters,’ there are many residents in the older section of Cochrane Lake who are opposed to the Local Improvement Tax currently being proposed by Rocky View County.
Approximately 92 per cent of the residents of this lake-side hamlet have signed a petition to this effect that was presented to Rocky View County’s chief administrative officer July 25.
Our community absolutely wants and needs to have the Cochrane Lake water levels lowered substantially so that the homes, properties, trees and natural vegetation that have been destroyed as a result of the recent years’ flooding can be repaired or replaced.
Our community has officially been bringing the flooding situation around the lake to the attention of our councillors since 2009, and yet nothing was done to rectify the situation until recently.
The flooding of our natural lake is a man-made problem.
Those who have not fulfilled their obligations to put appropriate infrastructure in place, or have not closely monitored developers (which they are supposed to do) should be the ones who have to pay to ensure a permanent solution to the flooding of Cochrane Lake.
Information outlined in official Rocky View County documents like the Cochrane Lake Conceptual Scheme, the Cochrane North Area Structure Plan and the Cochrane Lake Hamlet Plan are supposed to be adhered to so that development in the county is responsible and sustainable.
It’s time for the parties who are responsible for the flooding to be fiscally responsible instead of imposing further taxes on the homeowners who are victims of poor management.
Ron Wright, Tom Powell, Katherine Sheridan, Tresa Pedersen Wright, and Grant Saretsky
