By Sheldon Spackman

Policy Approved

Lacombe County council approves gated community policy

Jul 15, 2020 | 10:50 AM

Lacombe County council has approved a newly developed policy pertaining to gated communities.

Following a successful two-year pilot project at the gated community of Westside Country Estates west of Sylvan Lake, County officials say the Residential Community Gates Policy provides for the installation and operation of gates at the entrances to residential subdivisions within the County.

County Manager Tim Timmons says the installation of automatic gates at Westside Country Estates has cut down on crime and trespassing in the area, adding that County Operations and Emergency Services reported no issues when trying to access the community.

“The residents of the development were very pleased in terms of the additional security it provided,” says Timmons. “So we submitted a proposal to council to move forward with a policy which gives us the authority to continue this arrangement with not only them, but with other homeowners associations of residential subdivisions throughout the county.”

With the success of the pilot at Westside Country Estates and a new policy in place, Timmons anticipates other communities to consider the same over the coming years.

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“We haven’t been approached by any but once news gets out, I would imagine that we will start getting some phone calls,” adds Timmons.

Key elements of the policy include an emergency services plan between the community and the County, and the municipality having the ability to open the community gate and access the subdivision at all times, whether by access code or keys.

RELATED: Lacombe County eyeing automatic gates as crime reduction measure