Rocky View County (RVC) council approved the rezoning of a piece of land in the northwest area of the county near the Hamlet of Madden to accommodate a new golf course, boutique hotel and individual cabins.
Council approved the move by a 7-2 vote on Nov. 6, with Bearspaw councillor Al Sacuta voting for this time around after being against the same motion a year prior.
“The roads weren’t suitable and the well may not have the capacity to supply 43,000 litres of water a day,” Sacuta said in his weekly blog of his 2011 vote. “This time I voted for. The experts say the well will be okay and if people want to drive on eight kilometres of poor gravel road to play golf, so be it.”
Sacuta said he is still having second thought about this rezoning, but that hopefully with the increase in traffic on the gravel road leading to the golf course, the province will be more motivated to pave the secondary highway.
The rezoning changed the land from ‘ranch and farm’ to ‘business leisure and recreation.’
In addition to the golf course, the boutique hotel will boast 21 rooms and a banquet facility. Fifteen cabins and an equal number of recreational parking stalls for overnight stays will also occupy the area.
The Bearspaw Glendale Community Association will get $64,000 to upgrade their Lifestyle Centre, while the Beaupre Community Association will get $15,174 for their own maintenance and repairs.
“As local recreation amenities and gathering places, the centres are valuable assets to the community,” said RVC reeve Rolly Ashdown.
The remainder of the funding for the Bearspaw Lifestyle Centre will come from the province’s Community Facility Enhancement Program and the association itself.
Repairs and upgrades will be done to the furnace, gym floor exterior siding, the alarm system and a screen and projector.
Beaupre Hall will have its exterior doors replaced, get gravel for the driveway, new picnic tables and some new kitchen appliances, to name a few.
The rest of Beaupre’s funding will come from their association, the M.D. of Bighorn and the Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund.
