Strathcona County residents say the development dispute is destroying their neighborhood

Business can be brutal. In Strathcona County, even a dispute over land is proving bizarre.

A developer has suggested that it could turn an old golf course into a cemetery and those who live in the luxury properties that surround the property say it is an attempt to sabotage their community.

“I was a little crazy for that,” said Chad Banman, resident of Sherwood Golf & Country Club Estates. “I actually saw it emerge and I was really crazy.”

Harry Kaura owns the Amnor group and the former Coyote Crossing golf course. Many of the residents of Sherwood Golf & Country Club Estates are not too happy with him.

Last week, three signs went up in the parking lot of the now closed golf course which borders the development of the country club south of Sherwood Park.

A sign said “Coming soon”.

On another there was the word “cemetery”.

The third sign promised a “funeral home”.

When Banman saw the signs, he thought, “He is a property developer, not a funeral home [operator.] I guess it’s a way to reduce the value of the land. “

It is an accusation that Harry Kaura does not dispute.

“There’s a whole lot of that. I will be honest. Yes, we didn’t take it lightly. “

This struggle dates back to 2014 when a company called VIP Developments owned the Coyote Crossing golf course and surrounding land. He had started to develop the million-dollar houses on the nine-hole course.

Before the project was completed, VIP Developments went bankrupt and the creditor, CareVest Capital, took control of the land.

Kaura said he wanted to buy undeveloped land and finish building the subdivision, but says that CareVest would only sell him the land if he agreed to buy the golf course. Kaura said he accepted and bought the course.

“Then they turned around and kept the land alone,” said Kaura.

“I wasn’t very happy about it, but it always happens in business.”

In a statement sent by email from CareVest Capital’s attorney, the company denies the existence of such an agreement and claims that CareVest has not kept the land.

He was transferred to a group of investors in a judge-approved sale. The land is kept in confidence and those investors have hired a company called Landrex to develop the split.

The trial left Kaura upset: he never wanted to own or manage a golf course.

“Without the land, I had no idea how to do it. I wouldn’t have invested money, “he said.

After a couple of years when the golf course lost money, Kaura closed it permanently.

The view has become far from picturesque.

The ninth tee box is located about 100 meters from the back door of a house. A few scattered blades of grass remain, but mostly they are crowded with knee-high dandelions.

The fairway runs past the yards of many other homes. It is also covered in dandelions, except where thistle bushes have piled up the other weeds. The ninth green is mostly dirty and the danger of stagnant water surrounding it is full of algae.

The course – once a selling point for those moving in – has become a source of discontent.

“It’s really childish,” said resident Sue-Ann Devlin. “At this point, we have had enough. We don’t need games. We did nothing. “

“It is shocking. You pay a lot for your home, a lot for your landscape and all this creeps into your courtyard. “

Kaura said he feels bad for people living on his land.

“Really, really, from the bottom of my heart I feel sorry for the residents who are caught in the middle.”

However, Kaura has stated that the course has lost money and his original business plan is no longer possible. He cannot afford to maintain the property as he once did. He adds that it is not necessary.

“We have no obligation to keep anything. It is a private golf course. It is private land. It is no longer a golf course. “

What the earth could become is unclear. The signs announcing a cemetery and a funeral home have gone down.

Kaura said she decided to knock them out last Friday after receiving a call from the mayor of Strathcona county, but the idea of ​​development remains.

“We have 64 acres of land. We hired a planner and will look at all the options available to us, as far as the earth is concerned, “said Kaura.

“A very good cemetery could be an option.”

Concerned residents asked Strathcona County to address both maintenance issues and the prospect of a cemetery in front of their construction sites.

In a statement, a county spokesman said that Strathcona County “is aware of this matter and appreciates the frustrations of the residents. However, the golf course is a privately owned recreational facility and therefore the owner has the rights to any private company. Being a private facility, the municipality has no control over its operations or the maintenance of the course itself. The county continues to monitor this property to ensure compliance with county statutes such as nuisance and unsightly premises. “

As for the cemetery plan, the county said that nothing could happen soon.

“The county has not received any application for land use modification for the golf course. Any proposed change in land use from a private golf course would require multiple changes to the statutory plans, including the county municipal development plan, the conceptual plan for residential areas of the country, as well as the area plan Sherwood Golf and Country Club estates. Changing these plans is a significant undertaking and involves widespread public involvement, a public hearing, and ultimately Council approval. “

Graveyard or not, the dispute continues and the weeds remain – which leaves many residents exasperated.

Kaura said she agreed to regularly cut the grass over holes that fall on existing properties, but said the developer or homeowners will have to pay for the costs.

In the long run, Landrex, who manages the development, said he had discussed with Kaura about finding a possible solution to these problems.

Kaura said he thought an agreement had recently been reached, but added that the agreement shattered at the last minute.