Monday’s announcement that a new francophone high school will be built in Erin Ridge hasn’t quelled the ongoing battle between a local developer and the city over a plot of land in Kingswood.
The city and Canterra have been at odds for years over a parcel of land in Kingswood. Under the original area structure plan for Kingswood and Pineview approved in 1986, Canterra is supposed to hand over a swath of land along Kingswood Boulevard to the city as park.
But Canterra has refused to do so, claiming the city wanted to use the site for a francophone high school. And as long as the city was looking at building a school there, it would not hand title of the land over.
Ryan Brown of Canterra said he would have to wait until construction of the francophone high school began before he was ready to comment further.
“I know the city’s announced it but it looks like there’s a few people in Erin Ridge opposed to the high school as well,” Brown said.
Both sides have repeatedly gone back and forth over the issue of the site. Mayor Nolan Crouse has never been shy about expressing his opinion the site would be perfect for a francophone school, but was forced to concede last year that wouldn’t happen. The city has declared that no development permits will be issued to Canterra until it hands over title of the land.
But Crouse hasn’t softened his stance. In his opinion, until Canterra hands over the parcel of land, it won’t be getting any further development permits, regardless of where the next schools are built.
“What we’re not going to do, while I have any influence at all, is guarantee you will never have a high school site on the Kingswood location,” Crouse said. “It may happen one, five or 25 years from now.”
The two sides have tried to amend the area structure plan, but were forced to back off because of public opposition to several other changes. Members of the community have said they would welcome a high school while at one point the president of Canterra was quoted as saying high school students don’t make good neighbours. The city has ruled out expropriating the land because of the cost involved and the precedent doing so might set.
Crouse used the example of Lorne Akins Junior High. The building was originally Paul Kane High School when it opened in 1963, but the high school later moved into a new building. The school became Lorne Akins in 1973.
“So we build a high school on El Dorado,” Crouse said. “Maybe we need a bigger high school in Kingswood. I don’t know what you might do.”
Coun. Cathy Heron, who has been pushing for a resolution so that Kingswood residents can have more of a park than the tot lot located on Kingswood Drive, is still hopeful the impasse might be resolved.
“If the threat (of a high school) is removed, I am hoping Canterra might subdivide and hand the land over to the city,” Heron said.
The city is planning to upgrade the tot lot on Kingswood Drive, but says that work is unrelated to the ongoing dispute.
