Both the chamber of commerce and members of St. Albert’s economic development advisory committee believe the stage is now set for significant economic growth.
On Monday city council approved amendments to its municipal development plan and intermunicipal development plan that zones the 617 acres of land designated for non-residential growth as industrial.
That move, coupled with recent city reports on how St. Albert can attract developers to the city, show it is taking development seriously, said economic development director Guy Boston.
“(The amendments) allows us to have a wider range of options for potential investors,” Boston said.
Lynda Moffat, executive director of the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce, said she has been waiting for the city to amend its plans for some time.
“I can’t even tell you … we’ve been advising city council that they needed to take this step, so for us it’s a huge positive for the City of St. Albert,” Moffat said.
Economic development advisory committee member and past chamber chair Charlene Zoltenko said the amendments matter to St. Albert residents because the impact business will have on the community will be significant.
“Employment, taxes, residential development and also all those things help support the city outside the business community,” Zoltenko said. “Businesses help with sports, charities and non-profits so there’s a huge spin-off by having all those things in the community. Sometimes I think that gets missed.”
The amendments also immediately boost the area of land the city has available for non-residential development, which means the city can now more aggressively market itself to developers.
“We heard in the past we didn’t have big enough pieces of land or parcels people were interested in,” Boston said. “This allows us to do a market sounding, to see if these kinds of parcels have any appeal.”
Moffat too said developers will now have more flexibility when it comes to choosing the proper site for their business.
“I don’t know how many times over the last few years we’ve turned business away because there is no place for them,” Moffat said. “We need that kind of investment in our city.”
St. Albert will also explore how it can make the city more appealing to developers. Earlier this month Boston presented a report offering three suggestions on incentives St. Albert can offer non-residential development: paying cash in lieu of setting land aside for municipal reserve, allowing incremental payment of property taxes and providing incentives for business to use environmentally-friendly technology.
“My overall opinion is that, if it’s going to help us get these lands developed, then why would we not want to offer incentives?” Moffat said. “It’s our bottom line over the years that is going show the positive results.”
Zoltenko said the committee has struck a sub-committee to examine the proposals and report back to the city.
“I think we need to find a unique approach,” Zoltenko said. “It’s something we need to look at to make sure St. Albert is as attractive as the rest of the area.”
