Public or Private?

Since the beach at Anniversary Park opened, it has been very popular – with both residents and non-residents of Chestermere. With most things, there has been a division of responses when the question has been asked on if the City of Chestermere should make the beach private by way of membership or proof of Chestermere residency.

Some say the beach should be fenced and work on a membership basis, while others say the beach should be open to everyone and anyone. Those that have made the argument to have the beach fenced and private have said that it would help control the crowd of who attends, lessen those that don’t follow the rules as they feel it is the non-Chestermere residents that are not complying to the rules and that it simply should just be for Chestermere residents to enjoy. The other side of this says that as ‘Alberta’s Recreation Oasis’, our lake and beaches should be open to everyone as when guests come to Chestermere they are also stopping in at our local businesses, getting to experience our great city and may even end up moving here if they like what they see.

Our neighbor, the City of Calgary, has a few communities that created private lakes/beaches that are only for use of members. Lake Sundance, located in the SE community of Sundance in Calgary, operates under a membership program for use of their lake. An encumbrance is registered against the Certificate of Title of the homeowner and lake fees are mandatory. The fees for most homes are $222.20 + GST per year. Fees for homes on lake accesses are $279.77 + GST and lake front homes are $301.99 + GST per year and are paid each July 1st.

Their rules state “A “member” is the homeowner(s) and/or their spouse and their unmarried children who are living at the residence”. Members under the age of 18 may take three guests (Non-Sundance Residents) into the park. Adult members are permitted up to a maximum of 12 guests per household per day. Larger groups must be pre-approved by management of the park.

Lake Bonavista, which was built in the late 1960s, has always had their lake operating under a membership system and, just as with Lake Sundance, is based on an encumbrance on the title of each property. Lake Bonavista members pay an annual fee of $288.75, due June 30th. Sara, a rep from the Lake Bonavista Homeowners Association explained, “Members can bring anyone to the lake as guests. The senior members (homeowners) can bring in 10; junior under 21 can bring in 2, juniors 21 and over can bring in 5. And we can make special arrangements for larger groups”.

Both of these are fenced areas that are gated and have staff that checks guests for issued membership cards upon entry. The membership fees for both of these lakes cover things like staff and maintenance.

City of Chestermere CAO, Dr. Randy Patrick commented saying, “The major difference between those locations (Lake Bonavista and Lake Sundance) and Anniversary Park is that those lakes are private lakes owned, as I understand it, by their respective residents associations.  Their lake construction was paid for by the sale of homes in the area around the lake”.

Dr. Patrick continued, “In the case of Anniversary Park, it is a public park, and the cost of the park’s construction came primarily from Provincial grants and a small portion of the funding from local donations.  Much like the Calgary parks system, either Chestermere’s parks are open to anyone who wishes to use them, or everyone using them would be charged (as is the practice at the Calgary Zoo). Chestermere has no parks where we collect fees for usage from the general public (an exception is for groups who wish to rent part of a park or a field for their own use). If we were to start charging for access at Anniversary or any other park, the City would require limiting access (through pay gates) and additional staffing for the parks. The City wishes to maintain access to Anniversary Park at no cost, so that all residents can have fun on the lake.  That does mean that the park will remain open to anyone who wishes to use it, and follows the rules of the park.  I will ask our bylaw officers to increase their attendance at the park, particularly on warmer days/evenings over the summer, as there are a number of people who may choose not to follow the rules, and that would be addressed”.
 
Dr. Patrick also mentioned that the beach in the Cove is now owned by the City and is also available for public use.  “It tends not to be as busy as Anniversary, and it is a lovely spot to take family and friends to enjoy the water”, adds the CAO.