An application to develop a 36-hole golf course in Rocky View County was endorsed by Rocky View councillors when they voted to approve redesignation of the land, March 2.

Residents in the area attended a public hearing to show their support for the project, located west of Dalemead.

"We find this is going to enhance the area," said Barry Charters, adjacent landowner.

"Yes it will increase traffic, but as we all know, traffic to McKinnon Flats is horrendous anyways so we probably won’t really see it. We welcome this."

Bill Davidson and his wife Kathleen, previous owners of the land, were equally supportive.

"As the previous landowner who has been involved in farming this land since 1971, I can say that the proposed use of this land is more suitable than its previous agricultural use," Kathleen wrote in a letter to the County.

"This land is rolling, having knolls and low spots, and is impacted by natural water runs with some large and ... small sloughs. It has always been a challenge trying to get wet areas planted in the spring or harvested in the fall and frequently, this was not accomplished."

"If the application is approved here, this will make changes to our lives but we think those changes are positive and we embrace them and we heartily support this application," said Bill.

The 284-acre parcel of land could become home to 36-hole Serenity Golf Club, owned and operated by SGC Land Company, which also operates Heather Glen (Chestermere) and Glen Eagles (Cochrane) golf courses. SGC believes the lifespan of Heather Glen is drawing to a close and hopes Serenity Golf Club will replace the business.

Stormwater management, biophysical, wetland impact and traffic assessments were all completed on the land and no impacts have been identified.

"Every effort has been made by the applicant to be as environmentally responsible with the design of the proposed golf course," said Mike Coldwell, municipal planner with Rocky View.

"There are many classified wetlands on the property. The design of the golf course has worked with these natural elements and has retained most wetlands and even expanded and enhanced others."

Councillor Harvey Buckley did express concern regarding the location of the golf course away from any identified growth nodes.

"I am having difficulty with this one. How are we going to accomplish the issue of trying to minimize our footprint, protecting wetlands and our working landscapes and also trying to protect our agricultural land?" he said.

"I don’t think that this project really fits into the spirit of our Growth Management Strategy nor into the spirit of the Landuse Framework."

But Councillor Earl Solberg disagreed.

"This may well be in the category of a business but it’s a recreational business, which is quite a lot different from a manufacturing plant or a place that’s used for commercial activity," he said.

"It’s not a very highly productive two quarters of land so to see a golf course that is going to go in and do landscaping and leave the majority of trees in place and plant more trees… it seems to me that it is a vast improvement over the current use of the land."