It's not uncommon this time of year to see fitness groups head outdoors for classes or other community groups look to host meetings and gatherings under the sun.

With mounting pressure for the use of town owned green spaces, particularly those along the lakeshore in Sylvan Lake, plus the regular influx of summer visitors, the Town is considering a permitting process for both profit and non-for-profit businesses looking to set up temporarily in those greenspaces.

Communications Officer Joanne Gaudet explains what administration is currently working on.

(yoga on the beach was one example Gaudet cited as utilizing public green space for classes - photo courtesy Yoga on the Beach - Sylvan Lake Facebook Page)

“We are proposing that we treat these workshops, or classes or businesses in the greenspace, like we would a mobile vendor with an identified fee, onetime fee.  Just having some guidelines in place to ensure that we’re not intruding on a visitor’s experience to the greenspace, or interfering with someone else’s experience along the waterfront”.

She notes currently a couple of high traffic areas, like Centennial Park and Lakefront Park are typically the hot spots.

“Certainly we have a congested area along the waterfront in terms of visitor levels and you know everyone wants to be down by the lake, everyone wants to enjoy a lakeside experience, so we’ve kind of detected potential for the development of some issues as far as people hosting workshops or classes or something like that of that nature on the greenspace and we currently did not have or do not have any restrictions”.

Permitting would potentially fall under the town’s mobile vending bylaw.

They’ve looked to see what other communities in the province are doing, and Gaudet says each community tends to make its own rules, some require permits or a rental fee, others feel they have an abundance of green space so it’s not an issue.

Administration will be drafting some recommendations to bring back to Council for review.