Quail Ridge outline approved

Sturgeon County council put its final stamp of approval on Quail Ridge last week, but not without some reservations on the levies proposed for it.

Councillors voted unanimously in favour of third reading for two bylaws last week to approve the outline plan and rezoning needed for the Quail Ridge subdivision. This was the last public vote held on the project.

This development, if built, will see about 243 people move into about 97 units along the Sturgeon River south of the Sturgeon Valley Golf Club. About 42 per cent of the development will be dedicated to environmental reserve.

The developer (Beaverbrook) still has to get a few permits from county administration before it starts construction, said area councillor Tom Flynn.

“One of the discussions still in the air is whether it will be curb and gutters or surface stormwater management,” he said.

While some residents at a public hearing had called for this entire area to be set aside for nature, Flynn said the developer has already set aside “more than just a reasonable amount” of green-space for that purpose.

Others questioned the need for more lots in the Sturgeon Valley.

“At current rates, we probably have a five to six year supply,” Flynn said.

As this development will take a couple of years to get rolling, he was confident that it would not create a glut of lots.

This development will require substantial upgrades to local pipes and sewers, administration noted, including an expansion to the Allin Ridge Reservoir.

That means that the county might have to charge up to $55,000 per lot in levies in this development, said Coun. Don McGeachy, citing preliminary estimates from administration – far more than what St. Albert, Morinville or Edmonton charge and far above the $22,425 per lot currently charged in the Sturgeon Valley.

“It basically prices us out of the ballpark,” he said.

Flynn also expressed reservations on the levy, and wanted assurances from Beaverbrook that it would pay for this infrastructure.

“The residents shouldn’t be paying for that growth. It should be the development,” he said.

Construction would likely start this spring, McGeachy said, assuming Beaverbrook gets its permits.

Cardiff bypass studied

Should the county build a bypass around Cardiff? That’s one of several questions county council hopes to answer with an upcoming study.

County council voted unanimously in favour of having administration do a $50,000 transportation study of Cardiff. The money comes from the county’s Municipal Sustainability Initiative funding and was approved in the 2012 budget.

Cardiff is a small community just east of Morinville. Residents have often raised safety concerns about the traffic on Township Road 554, which runs through the middle of Cardiff.

The county plans to pave Township Road 554 east of Cardiff within two years, said Flynn, councillor for the region. The province is also building a major interchange to the west of Cardiff west where that road meets Highway 2. That means there could be a lot more traffic going through Cardiff soon. Residents have also taken issue with speeders and trucks headed to the Roseridge landfill.

“We have to find ways to solve some of these local problems,” Flynn said.

This study will look at the traffic impact that the future interchange and road paving will have on Cardiff.

“Maybe the best solution would be to take the bulk of the traffic out of the community,” he continued.

The study will look at the possibility of creating a bypass around Cardiff to handle future traffic, as well as adding traffic lights or speed bumps.

Flynn expected the study to be finished early next year.

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