Woodlands County is helping to develop a new tourist destination.
At their Oct. 5 meeting, County council approved the rezoning of a parcel of land south of the town of Whitecourt. The landowner, Ray Hilts, plans to convert the land into what he calls a unique tourist destination.
In his letter to council, Hilts says he wants to build between five and 10 mini-cabins, along with trails to connect them. The land is mostly forested, and Hilts would preserve the forests. Hilts needs the land rezoned from residential to recreational for his proposal to go ahead.
At the County’s Sept. 21 meeting, a public hearing was held on the rezoning, and several adjacent landowners did speak against it. Mainly, they were concerned with Hilts’ business plan, and how much traffic it would bring to the area.
Before the final vote on the rezoning, Councillor Ron Govenlock reiterated those concerns.
“That entire area was zoned, several years ago, to Country Residential,” said Govenlock. “Consequently, people expect to have the privacy, the comfort, and enjoyment associated with living in a county residential area.”
Council voted to rezone the land, with Govenlock being the lone dissenting vote.
