The Lakes of Muirfield concept is born among a group of investors. Land is available in Wheatland County twenty minutes from Calgary’s eastern limits. Muirfield Land Corp is formed.

Approved Entitlement Process allowed for the phased development of approximately 700 housing units, a small commercial component, and a resort style golf course on 350 acres of gently rolling farmland straddling the Western Irrigation District Canal between RR 264 and 265 east and west, Twp Rd 252 in the north, and the hamlet of Lyalta to the south.

Behind the Oil Sands and Government construction it was the third largest construction project at the time. Over 3 million cubic metres of earth (at $3/m³) was moved to form the future golf course, roads, underground infrastructure, drinking water reservoirs, and residential lots, many of them walk-outs.

To address Wheatland County Councils’ hesitancy to approve the development, Lakes of Muirfield was set up as a bare land condominium, with initially three condo corporations for each of the phases. All three would be managed by a Homeowners’ Association.

This meant the future residents would be responsible for ‘Ongoing maintenance of all utility infrastructure services, internal roads, and garbage collection within the Muirfield Structure Plan Area will be the responsibility of the Homeowners’ Association. Wheatland County will be exempt from providing any services whatsoever.’ (LOM ASP -2005- 5.1 Maintenance).

Only two condominium corporations were registered at the time.

Meanwhile, the land south of the W.I.D. Canal was cleared, rough shaped and underground infrastructure was installed by end of 2006, while the land north of the Canal was completed by the end of 2007.

The original ASP called for a wastewater treatment lagoon on-site. In early 2007, neighboring Rockyview County, eager to take advantage of Federal and Provincial government grants for wastewater mitigation, approached M.L.C. offering to build a pipeline from the hamlet of Dalroy on Twp Rd 252 and Hwy 9 to the Langdon water treatment facility.

M.L.C. invested $3.7 million dollars building a pipeline and lift station to a collection point where the future pipeline to Dalroy would terminate. A ten-year contract was signed for Rockyview to provide wastewater services.

Four Builders purchase Phase One lots and begin to build show homes on the Boulevard and Muirfield Close.

Progress in L.O.M. slows as the effects of what is fast becoming a devastating, worldwide downturn slowly creeps into the Canadian economy. The golf course only has four holes within the first year and struggles with a few more the next.

Builders are feeling the pinch as the once robust real estate market starts to stall.

No pipeline started and no pipeline built. Expected grants fell through.

To entice a wider market, St. Andrews Close is subdivided into duplex lots, and four two story, and eight bungalow style spec units are built.

One builder has succumbed to the softened market and gone out of business. Two others are struggling. Phase One sales are soft, and Phase Two sales are non-existent.

Vanity Homes purchases fifty of the lots that became available.

M.L.C. sells the golf course to Frank Carey, principal of Wallace & Carey, a Canadian distributor located in Calgary. The course is re-branded as Muirfield Lakes Golf Club, and construction ramps up to complete the remaining holes in as little time as possible. He retains the concept of a semi-private golf course, open to the public with memberships available.

Semi-private, resort style 18-hole links golf with restaurant and outdoor patio are ready for green fee players and members alike.

Someone misplaced a decimal point. Their costs are tenfold of what they are charging to truck the waste to the Chestermere plant. They must raise the rates.

Douglas Homes is now the only builder of the original four still in business and building homes. Vanity has not started to build yet.

Rockyview County informs M.L.C. they will suspend service as of February 1^st, 2015. When M.L.C. argues a contract is in place until 2017, the reported response from the County is, “So, sue us.” M.L.C., wisely, decides to save their money and works feverishly to find an alternative.

On a happier note, Vanity Homes starts building their first show home on the Crescent, and Douglas Homes begins to build spec homes on their remaining lots.

Vanity opens their first show home while the first wastewater bills hit at the new rates. The developer, M.L.C. has taken over that service and is now trucking the waste to Strathmore. Depending on water usage, some of the heavy water users see bills soar from below $100/month to more than $400.

M.L.C., wants to hand over Phase One to a resident elected Condo Board and HOA Board. Due to a lack of homes built, however, residents object. As a compromise, two residents volunteer to liaison with the developer and field resident inquiries and complaints.

Indus Homes purchases the remaining lots in Phase One. With Vanity Homes successfully selling lots and building homes, M.L.C. determines it is time to hand over management and infrastructure/roads maintenance of Phase One to a resident elected Condo Board and H.O.A.

While M.L.C. retains ownership of Phase Two, and the drinking water treatment plant, Phase One, which includes Muirfield Blvd, Muirfield Close, and Muirfield Crescent up to the Close, will now be the responsibility of the residents of Phase One. An AGM to elect those Board members is planned for early 2018.

The final surface of the roads in Phase One is still the responsibility of M.L.C. and guaranteed by a letter of credit for $1.2 million, which is held in trust by Wheatland County.

The first Board of Directors for both the Village 1 Condo Corp. and the HOA are elected at the first Annual General Meeting for the Lakes of Muirfield. The front gate, road maintenance including snow removal, and collection of both Condo fees and wastewater fees are now administered by the Condo Corporation Board, while the H.O.A is responsible for paying the bills. Both use the services of a Property Management company.

The HOA also takes over management of the Architectural Controls. The Design Consultants, IBI, later re-named Arcadis are retained to approve all new builds before permits are requested from the County.

Francis (Frank) Carey passed away on April 29, 2018. MLGC was his pet project, and while the family retained ownership for the immediate future, they began plans to sell the venue.

Residents are most concerned with the expensive wastewater costs, while the Board is concerned with a growing list of delinquent accounts and outstanding wastewater payments.

More volunteers step forward to join the HOA Board of Directors and it now boasts 11 members.

Dave and Carly Whitell purchase the course and begin to ramp up for the 2020 season.

Early April 2020, while Canada and the rest of the world is reeling from the pandemic the principal of Muirfield Land Corp (0747744 B.C. Ltd) informs Wheatland County that he is prepared to put the Lakes of Muirfield into receivership.

He offers the balance of Phase Two, which includes approximately 80 fully serviced lots, 100-plus surveyed and titled lots on roughed in incomplete streets and serviced with only storm drains and water lines, but no gas, electricity or cable/internet lines, the reservoirs and water treatment plant, and all of Phase Three to the County for one dollar, as long as they tear up the $1.2 million letter of credit set aside to pay for the final ‘skin’ of the Phase One roads.

Estimates value the offered amenities and property at around $30 million.

Wheatland County decides to accept the offer and becomes the LOM’s new Development Authority. Lawyers for both sides start work on the transition.

With the announcement of the transaction between the County and the soon to be former M.L.C., members of the HOA Board of Directors (now conducting online Zoom calls when public meeting/gatherings are not allowed) decide there is no better time than to revisit the governance of Lakes of Muirfield – specifically: the Bare Land Condo.

Two very important factors contribute:

1. The Condo and HOA Boards have only been in existence since January 2018. Prior to, the developer was collecting the Condo fees (purposedly kept low to attract home buyers) and paying for the services, often subsidizing them. Since no official Condo Board was in place, building a Reserve Fund was a secondary concern. That fund was non-existent when residents formed the Condo and HOA Boards in 2018, as per the legally required Reserve Fund Study that same year, and still anemic by early 2020.

   Fees had been increased from $99 to $116/month to build the fund, but another steep increase would soon be necessary to reach the minimum Reserve required. In addition, any major infrastructure failure prior to substantially increasing that fund would force a cash call of thousands to each resident on top of the fee increases.

2. Although the residents of LOM’s Condo fees had been paying for snow clearing, maintenance, street lights, garbage/recycling pick-up, and would eventually be on the hook if any major infrastructure failed, they were still paying full property taxes to Wheatland County. Essentially, they were paying twice.

A committee was formed to explore the possibility of terminating the condo corporations, once the transaction between the County and the outgoing developer were complete.

The transaction was completed but there was still much work to be done before the County took full responsibility.

Discussion with legal counsel advised while it had never been done, it was possible to terminate the condo corps, replace them with a subdivision and transfer each lot to fee simple. It would require a lot of work. For a special resolution like this, 75% of total residents must vote, and for a judge to approve, it was recommended a vast majority of them be in favour. The County had to be onside as well, since they will take over the underground infrastructure, roads and sidewalks.

Donated from a northern oilfield work camp, a full-sized natural ice rink with boards, stands and posts for end netting was assembled by a large group of LOM residents over two weekends after County crews levelled and gravelled the site located at the entrance to the community. The area was loaned to the Rec Society for three years.

Charges per cubic meter are not adjusted at first, but the HOA is thankful as the administration and collection of monthly charges was time consuming and frustrating. The County takes over all delinquent accounts as well.

Discussions with the County, specifically staff assigned to the community and Division 5 Councillor, Scott Klassen are amenable towards the idea of terminating the Bare Land Condo. The committee hires DBH Law, who set up the original LOM HOA articles and Village 1 Condo Corporation bylaws so are familiar with our community, to guide efforts.

The AGM is not held due to pandemic restrictions.

Via conference call as part of a Council meeting, LOM HOA representatives presented the request for Council support to terminate the bare land condominium. Council approves, with the stipulation LOM pay the legal, survey, title transfer fees, and the required resident approval is achieved.

An in-person meeting of residents is not allowed, so online video conferences were held. 75 of approximately 140 occupied households attended and the feedback was very positive.

In May, teams of HOA directors went door to door, armed with an explanation, and the special resolution. Approximately 80% of the residents, builders and other lot owners were contacted and the support was overwhelming.

In June, more follow-up door knocking, plus emails and meetings with absentee home and lot owners not contacted in the first go-round.

By July, of the approximately 180-185 home and lot owners, only three absentee owners did not respond, and two residents refused to sign, abstaining instead. With almost 97% approval from 99% contacted residents, our legal team was confident of success.

In late 2020, Wheatland County conducted a recreation survey of all residents, asking which amenities they used the most. The results were published in February 2021 (see Open Space, Recreation & Culture Survey). 15% of the respondents were from Lyalta.

Without any amenities in LOM other than the rink and a tot lot, both on borrowed land, with our growing partnership with Wheatland County strengthening, the HOA Recreation Committee felt it necessary to survey our residents to determine what recreation and green space amenities they wanted.

We were in dire need of green space, and we began to negotiate with the County to provide space inside the community. Based on the two surveys the HOA received a mandate of what to put in that future space.

By order in Masters Chambers of the Queen’s Court of Alberta, our application was approved and signed on this date. Our legal representatives and the County’s legal team began to work on submitting title transfer.

Wheatland County became responsible for all road maintenance and repair, sidewalk repair, and underground infrastructure including storm drains and water and wastewater lines. The HOA became the sole authority and administrative body for the Lakes of Muirfield (once title transferred) and the Village 1 Condo Board was dissolved.

That’s 184 lots in Phase One, 251 Lots in Phase Two (132 serviced, 119 not) for a total of 435 lots.

LTO approval is the last step required. Lakes of Muirfield is officially a subdivision and the LTO starts producing the new titles showing properties are fee simple.

A lot has gone on since the Bare Land Condo’s were terminated. It was as though a damn of interest burst once that task was completed. For any details, check out the LOM HOA Meeting Minutes on Town Square.

Residents vote to replace front gate with video surveillance recording devices. LOM streets are now public roads, and gates are not allowed.

A Reserve Fund is no longer necessary, and cost-saving contracts with new service providers result in the second reduction of HOA fees in as many years. Even so, the Recreation & Amenities Fund is growing steadily, although finding suitable land for green space inside the community is progressing frustratingly slow.

Amenity and Recreation Plans are reviewed but the sticking point is there is no land. As Wheatland County determines the future of the LOM, they are hesitant to give away potentially valuable acres inside the community to the residents for much needed recreation space.

County of Wheatland Council have plans to sell the available acreages, including the balance of Phase Two, Phase Three, and the two Cells at the entrance as a package to a developer. They have set aside a lot in the balance of Phase Two for a tot lot, but until that phase is finished it is inaccessible. An alternative must be found. LOM residents desperately need recreation space.

A growing partnership exists between the Lyalta Community Club and LOM HOA. This wonderful and venerable building has been the social centre of the area since the early 1970’s and though usage tailed off as the new millennium progressed, especially during the pandemic, it is perfectly located and suited to become the heart of the area once more.

Some members of the HOA Board are also on the LCC Board. The HOA purchases annual memberships to the Lyalta Community Club for every resident of Lakes of Muirfield and contributes towards the building’s upkeep.

In December and January, the LCC and HOA worked together to come up with a plan for an off-leash dog park on the Western Irrigation District land north of the canal on RR264 beside the LCC property. It is sloped, but our four-legged friends won’t mind.

In September of 2022, the County closed the RV Lot. They offered it to the HOA, who were more than interested, but no company would offer insurance. An incorporated non-profit Association is treated differently than a non-profit Society.

As a Society, companies will insure the LCC.

The RV Lot re-opened managed by the Lyalta Community Club in April of 2024 and is available for Lakes of Muirfield residents to store their RV’s, campers, and trailers.

The current LCC amenities are popular and well used during the summer months, so initial interest locating amenities for LOM residents at the LCC did not make sense. There was not enough free space, and neither the LCC nor LOM HOA wanted to remove any of the existing facilities.

The owners of the land adjacent to the current LCC grounds, the Huntleys, were contacted and they very graciously agreed to part with 7.5 acres on the eastern boundary at a reasonable price. With that extra space, parking congestion, and room for more amenities is now possible, and with extra acres available future proofed as Lakes of Muirfield, Lyalta, and the area grows.

Wheatland County approves a motion to expand the Hamlet of Lyalta boundaries to include the Lakes of Muirfield subdivision and the Lyalta Community Club property.

Although sharing Lyalta’s postal code, neither the LOM nor LCC had status that equals a recognized hamlet. We were essentially invisible to the census takers as our numbers were absorbed into the area rural population. This will make it easier for requesting Provincial grants for targeted infrastructure expenditures (like a wastewater treatment lagoon) for the two areas. We are no longer orphans!

The Land Purchase is complete, the subdivision and land-use redesignation for the extra 7.5 acres passed, and road accesses approved. In the meantime, a walking/bike path along the WID Canal, with a controlled crossing across RR264, past the now fenced in off-leash park into the LCC grounds, a project Wheatland County has been working on for three years, is scheduled to be completed by end of month.

Grant requests have been submitted so the ambitious recreational amenity plans can be started on the expanded LCC grounds. The future at the Lakes of Muirfield is very bright.

[text]