A longtime resident of Rocky View County (RVC) and the Bearspaw area recently presented a proposal to the County’s Public Presentation Committee that promised the use of a public marina to give residents access to recreational use along the Bearspaw Reservoir.
Rick Skauge, the owner of Bearspaw Tree Farm and 30-year resident of the Bearspaw community, proposed to install a marina along the Bearspaw Reservoir where residents could rent reservoir access or even different watercraft. The proposed marina would fit 30 row boats, 30 kayaks, 30 canoes, 20 paddle boats, and 50 paddle boards.
“The people living in the adjacent and surrounding communities will now have direct access to the Bearspaw Reservoir, which they have not had until September 2023, when the Haskayne Park opened to the public,” reads Skauge’s proposal. “The public has had the use of the Glenmore Reservoir for many decades, and we hope to duplicate those experiences on the Bearspaw Reservoir.”
Unable to attend the committee meeting in person, Skauge was represented by development consultant Cameron Wallace, who told the committee members that Skauge had applied to Alberta Environment and Protected Areas for a “Dock Approval," but the application was refused outright. Environment and Protected Areas stated that Skauge and Wallace needed to get approval from TransAlta Utilities.
The issue of land approval and proper jurisdiction became an immediate point of contention and concern for members of the committee. Technically, although the Bearspaw Reservoir is situated within RVC, the land that the proposed Bearspaw Marina would go on belongs to the City of Calgary, and the waterway itself falls under the jurisdiction of the federal and provincial governments.
Aside from land jurisdiction, the proposed Bearspaw Marina relies on a road access that would cross a CP rail line, which would require marina users to cross an active rail track. Wallace said that the trek from the closest gravel road to the proposed marina location is about 10 minutes.
RVC Division 3 Coun. and Reeve Crystal Kissel said that since neither the land or the water fell under County jurisdiction, there wasn’t anything the committee could do for Skauge and Wallace. She said she “couldn’t support” what they were asking for.
In their application, Skauge and Wallace argue that a precedent has already been established for a marina on the Bow River, based on the TransAlta Easement Agreement with the Ghost Lake Marina.
Wallace said that he and Skauge were requesting that the County and the City of Calgary to inform TransAlta that they have “no objections” to their application, which they hoped would encourage TransAlta to come to a similar easement agreement, allowing their marina access to the Bearspaw Reservoir.
The committee members voted 5-2 to move the issue to council for proper debate, and to have administration pen a letter saying they had “no objections. Kissel was joined by Division 2 Coun. and Deputy Reeve Don Kochan in opposing the measure.
