FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT Prepared For: Lacombe County, Red Deer County, Town of Sylvan Lake, Summer Village of Birchcliff, Summer Village of Half Moon Bay, Summer Village of Jarvis Bay Summer Village of Norglenwold, Summer Village of Sunbreaker Cove Prepared By: Westworth Associates Environmental Ltd. Lovatt Planning Consultants January, 2003 FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT January, 2003 1 BACKGROUND 1 1.1 SYLVAN LAKE PUBLIC ACCESS STUDY - BACKGROUND REPORT 1 1.2 STUDY CONTEXT 1 1.3 ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT 2 1.4 LAND USE CONTEXT 3 1.5 MANAGEMENT CONTEXT 4 1.6 STUDY ISSUES & OBJECTIVES 5 2 RECREATION CAPACITY 6 2.1 RECREATION CAPACITY CONTEXT 6 2.2 RECREATION CAPACITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 6 2.3 RECREATION CAPACITY OBJECTIVES 8 2.4 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION & ENHANCEMENT 9 2.5 BOATING CAPACITY 16 3 PUBLIC ACCESS 24 3.1 PUBLIC ACCESS CONTEXT 24 3.2 PUBLIC ACCESS OBJECTIVES 24 3.3 MANAGING EXISTING PUBLIC ACCESS 25 3.4 PUBLIC ACCESS DEVELOPMENT 26 3.5 FUTURE PUBLIC ACCESS THROUGH SUBDIVISION 31 4 IMPLEMENTATION 35 4.1 THE SYLVAN LAKE MANAGEMENT PLAN COMMITTEE 35 4.2 ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF OTHER MANAGERS 36 4.3 IMPLEMENTATION PRIORITIES & FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 38 Infrastructure Systems Ltd. Table of Contents FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT January, 2003 1 BACKGROUND 1.1 SYLVAN LAKE PUBLIC ACCESS STUDY - BACKGROUND REPORT Readers of this Findings & Recommendations Report should refer to the separate Background Report for all detailed information on the study process and the environmental, recreation, and management context which was developed for assessing recreation capacity and identifying improved public access at Sylvan Lake. The Background Report contains detailed information on the current state of the Lake including water quality, habitat concerns, land use, access challenges, and boat use estimates. All of the information presented in the report was developed through a review of the work generated during the Sylvan Lake Management Plan: 2000 Update (SLMP), as well as other previous studies on Sylvan Lake, stakeholder interviews, field research and evaluation, and public consultation. 1.2 STUDY CONTEXT The purpose of the Sylvan Lake Public Access Study is to provide the municipalities that surround the Lake with a comprehensive, lake-wide action plan for dealing with the demand for improved public access to Sylvan Lake. The study will build on the recommendations of the SLMP by addressing two primary objectives: § Assessment of the Lake’s overall capacity to support increased water-based recreation, § identification of opportunities for improving public access to the lake The Sylvan Lake Public Access Study has been completed by a consulting team led by Infrastructure Systems Ltd. (ISL) and has been managed by the Sylvan Lake Management Plan Committee (SLMPC). The SLMPC is made up of elected representatives from the eight municipalities which surround the lake. Administrative staff from the municipalities provided technical support to the committee and the consultant team. The defined study area focused on a designated 1.6 km (1.0 mile) wide zone around the lake (Figure 1.1) with consideration of impacts related to the entire Sylvan Lake watershed. A detailed outline of the study process, phases and tasks is provided in the Background Report. An important part of the study process was the involvement of stakeholders in providing background information on the lake environment and in evaluating issues and recommendations related to current and projected lake use, lake capacity and public access. Stakeholders included the municipalities within Infrastructure Systems Ltd. 1 FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT January, 2003 the study area, area ratepayers, provincial and federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s). The public consultation process included a number of specific events such as committee and community workshops, public open houses and a final public meeting. The consultation also included regular updates on the project which were circulated through local newspapers as well as posting of information on the ISL website. Detailed information on the public consultation process and results is provided in the Background Report. Figure 1.1: Study Area 1.3 ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT As defined in Section 2 of the Background Report, the overall objective for this portion of the project was to provide environmental overview of the Sylvan Lake area, and assess the capacity of the lake for further recreational use and development. Various sources of information were used to assess the vegetation, fish, and wildlife resources of the Sylvan Lake project area. Much information was obtained from reports and discussions with personnel from federal, provincial and municipal government departments and non-government conservation organizations. Aerial photography analysis was used to map existing habitats and sensitive areas, and to identify landscape characteristics that may be affected by increased levels of public recreation use. Reconnaissance level field site inspections were then used to verify the overall lake and site specific environmental analysis. Infrastructure Systems Ltd. 2 FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT January, 2003 Some of the key environmental characteristics of the Sylvan Lake watershed include: § The drainage basin surrounding Sylvan Lake is approximately 102 km2, which is very small in comparison to the lake’s size. Several intermittent streams and drainage channels flow into Sylvan Lake. The outlet does not have a control structure and outflow from the lake is intermittent (1 in 20 years) § Sylvan Lake is a relatively large, moderately deep lake. Water levels of the lake fluctuate naturally over a range of about 1 m in response to precipitation, runoff, groundwater flow, and evaporation. § The water quality of Sylvan Lake has been monitored most years since 1983 by Natural Resource Services of Alberta Environment. There is no indication that the water quality of Sylvan Lake has deteriorated in the last 20 years. § Sylvan Lake currently supports 4 species of sport fish however the fish populations are in relatively poor condition. Lake whitefish is still an important winter fishery. § The main identified soil related limitations for recreational uses in the area include high water tables and steep slopes. Access to the lakeshore is severely limited where escarpments border on parts of the Sylvan Lake because of steep and unstable slopes. § Native terrestrial vegetation is limited within the Sylvan Lake watershed because of agriculture and residential development. This natural riparian and upland vegetation is extremely important for maintaining water quality and for fish and wildlife habitat. Much of the Sylvan Lake watershed has been cleared and the shoreline has been altered by development. § Sylvan Lake is considered a regionally environmentally significant area in both the counties of Red Deer and Lacombe. A number of environmental characteristics of the lake contribute to this Recommendations related to environmental protection and enhancement are provided in Section 2.4 of this report. 1.4 LAND USE CONTEXT As defined in Section 3 of the Background Report, there are five categories of land use which define the shoreline of Sylvan Lake: Residential, Agricultural, Institutional, Public Lands, and Commercial. Some of the key land use characteristics of the Study Area include: § Publicly owned lands provide lake access to only 15% of the shoreline. § Five categories of publicly owned lands were identified: Shoreline municipal reserve & Environmental reserve; Municipal reserve / community facility / park; Road allowances; Provincial Parks; Protected Lands. § Each category has distinct characteristics in terms of location, size, shape, use, and the quality of public access that is provided. § Following an assessment of all public lands, it was determined that the majority of individual sites have typical characteristics that make them unsuitable for the development of new or formalized public access. Infrastructure Systems Ltd. 3 FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT January, 2003 § A considerable portion of Sylvan Lake’s shoreline is undeveloped, privately owned, agricultural land (32%) § Future development of private lands for lakeshore residential subdivisions has the potential to provide land for additional public access (through dedication of municipal and environmental reserve - See Section 3.5). § As with public lands, a considerable portion of the private lands have characteristics (eg. steep slopes, environmental sensitivity) that make them unsuitable for the development of formal public access. Recommendations related to public access management and development are provided in Section 3.0 of this report. 1.5 MANAGEMENT CONTEXT As defined in Section 4 of the Background Report, management issues for public access and lake use at Sylvan Lake are well documented and can be categorized related to bylaw and enforcement, public education, site development and operations. These management issues were clearly identified during the SLMP process as well as during the public consultation completed as part of this study. As has been identified by the public and stakeholders many times, the challenge from a management perspective is insufficient resources on the part of the various levels of government to properly manage the increasing use of developed and undeveloped public access locations and recreational activities on the lake. Beyond issues of available resources, another point of public