Council candidates get down to business

St. Albert residents have until Oct. 18 to decide who should fill the city's six available council chairs.

In this, our fifth instalment of a six-part Q&A series, the Gazette allowed the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce to formulate a question for candidates. Responses have only been edited for spelling, grammar and length. The Gazette does not vouch for the accuracy of candidates' statements.

Question:

Since our goal is to reach a ratio of 80/20 relative to residential/non-residential tax assessment (currently sitting at 89/11), and if we reach that goal we will still be at or near the bottom of all municipalities in Alberta, what do you think we need to do to reach this goal?

What are your comments on the current differential between residential and non-residential mill rates that has business owners paying 16 per cent of all property tax revenue despite much lower assessment?

What do you think about the idea of the city acting as a developer by servicing city-owned land and selling it for non-residential development?

Robyn Morrison

In order to reach an 80/20 ratio between residential and non-residential taxes, St. Albert needs to be a more enticing place for businesses. We need a focus on commercial property and an industrial subdivision that can benefit all developers and the future industrial expansion. We then can begin to shift the ratio away from residential taxes.

I would be open to the idea of developing and leasing and/or selling city-owned land, the servicing of such lands can serve as a means of job creation, if necessary, and the sale of such lands adds tax revenue.

However, I am undecided as to whether the city should get into the development business. Servus Place leads as an example of how poorly run city businesses can be. By focusing on light industry and commercial revenue where the city keeps red tape to a minimum but co-operation high, the city can reduce its dependency on the residential tax base.

Norm Harley

1. We've been talking about this for years. Is the 80/20 split realistic? Hundreds of new homes are built every year. This just compounds the problem. The 89/11 tax split will soon be 95/05. Drastic measures would need to be taken to reverse the trend, such as annexing the industrial land north of St Albert.

2. We need to review mill rates. Why is the non-residential rate double that for residential? The mill rate is only part of the problem. What advantages do we offer for a business to set up in St. Albert? Why is administration perceived as unfriendly toward businesses? We need to meet with the chamber to develop and implement a plan to encourage new businesses to set up in St. Albert.

3. The city should not front the costs for servicing new developments. It should be the primary developer's responsibility to do so before the city does any service work.

Malcolm Parker

To achieve the 80/20 goal, we need to zone a sizable land base for light industrial/commercial development. Once land is available we need to make developers aware so they can plan. Council needs the 'will' to promote development. Council needs to direct administration to work collaboratively with stakeholders. The approval process must be streamlined by removing red tape and we must have business friendly policies.

Business already subsidizes services to residents and we need to rebalance and diversify the tax base. The higher mill rate is not conducive to attracting new business. The business community has 11 per cent of the tax assessment yet pays 16 per cent of the property tax revenue. Something is not right.

If the city acted as a developer this would make serviced land ready for development and would encourage light industrial/commercial business growth. Entrepreneurs would realize we are interested in them locating in St. Albert as long as prices are competitive.

James Burrows

There are some excellent benefits to doing business in St. Albert. We need to promote the fact that businesses do not pay business taxes, only municipal franchise fees on natural gas and not on electricity. Businesses in St. Albert benefit from quality city amenities and great transportation links particularly with the Anthony Henday Drive ring road system and proximity to the north and the Villeneuve Airport.

The differential in mill rates is balanced out by the fact that St. Albert does not charge business tax to business owners within our city boundary.

The city has acted as developer in North Campbell when that business park needed a kick-start. This venture had some risk but was exactly what was needed to encourage business development. A similar venture along Villeneuve Road between the city-owned Badger site and our western boundary would serve well to open up possibilities of a major new business park.

Cam MacKay

The city should not be acting as a developer. Performing this role becomes a conflict of interest when they attempt to enforce building codes and land use principles while they try to attract development.

The 80/20 split remains a traditional St. Albert political promise yet little has been done to achieve this objective. The path to success remains clear yet the will of any council to achieve this objective has been lacking. The path would involve:

1. Reducing the red tape or impediment to doing business in St. Albert.

2. Zoning appropriate parcels of land for light industrial and retail developments so we have a product to offer business when they look at St. Albert as an option.

3. Constructing residential development at a slower pace so when we do attract business it is not dwarfed by the number of new homes we have constructed, thereby making any attempt at an 80/20 split impossible.

Roger Lemieux

We would all welcome a tax split better than 89/11. Council has worked very hard with landowners, developers and businesses in bringing everyone together. The economic growth of our city is very important and has always been a high council priority.

• Our first step was to acquire land — that is done

• We needed to offer better transportation links — Ray Gibbon Drive and the Anthony Henday Drive are almost complete

• We have approved the area plan for Erin Ridge North, which includes commercial along Highway 2

• South Riel Business Park (plus existing Riel businesses) needed to access Ray Gibbon Drive for steering commercial traffic away from residential areas — Le Clair Way is now built.

• Holes' Enjoy Centre is near opening. They will serve as a major anchor in attracting development.

• Campbell Business Park is attracting many new businesses.

• I am not in favour of the city acting as a developer by servicing city-owned land.

Stanley Haroun

City council has absolutely no plan to reach any ratio. We have been talking about the 80/20 ratio for years with zero results. A ratio is meaningless and unattainable without a measurable, time limited plan with hard numbers and clear outcome.

The new city council must put an action plan in place in the following logical order:

1. Zone industrial land.

2. Market the city to attract commercial and light industrial businesses.

3. Zone smaller residential lots for smaller houses for the newcomers.

4. Measurable three-, five- and 10-year plans, with hard targets and clear outcome.

The current differential is unfair to the business owner and should be reviewed. We must become more business friendly. Businesses are not locating here for lack of land and lack of accommodation for their workers.

I support the city servicing city owned land for non-residential development. The Badger land is one example.

Cathy Heron

The 80/20 split is a worthy goal, whether it is realistic is another question. With the Capital Region Board requiring higher density for every residential unit built in St. Albert, the ratio is tilted away from this target.

This does not mean there's no room for improvement. The city has a tremendous opportunity in the next few years to maximize the potential of commercial development north of the Walmart power centre and along the west side of the city with the opening of the ring road and future Ray Gibbon Drive extension.

The differential between residential and non-residential mill rates is not ideal, but given the current tax climate we cannot afford to shift the burden back to residents. After looking at other municipalities across Alberta I have found that our non-residential mill rate is below average and only slightly higher than Edmonton.

The city acting as a developer can be risky. Our responsibility is to make development desirable and bring the experts in.

James Van Damme

St. Albert has annexed lands that have no roadways and infrastructure to build non-residential developments to assist in reaching the 80/20 target.

We need to review all our options for financing land development, while minimizing the impact to St. Albert taxpayers. One option is to use private infrastructure leases that other municipalities engage to build roadways and provide services to these lands at a deferred fee. The infrastructure lease costs are then covered from levies placed on the developers. For example, Ray Gibbon Drive stage three needs to be completed prior to any land development taking place in the northwest annexed lands.

We also need to become the squeaky wheel to the province to receive the necessary infrastructure funds for large projects like Ray Gibbon Drive. This would save St. Albert residents the hit on future property tax assessments. Keeping the land development to the private sector with financing options in place by lessors potentially on city-owned land.

Wes Brodhead

The goal of achieving the 80/20 residential/business tax split has been the "holy grail" pursued by many aspiring councillors as long as many in this community can remember. Yet our current tax split of 89/11 indicates we are no closer to the goal!

What to do?

• Council needs to be more business-friendly in the regulatory regime.

• Conduct research into barriers that prevent businesses locating in St. Albert

• The city bureaucracy needs to be easier to work with

• Market St. Albert aggressively as a business location – we can compete!

• Consider offering businesses incentives to locate in St. Albert

• Complete Ray Gibbon Drive to Villeneuve Road to open up the northwest annexed lands.

St. Albert has been very successful at building a residential community. If we are as intentional about pursuing business opportunities, we will not only reach the 80/20 tax split but surpass it.

Len Bracko

Bringing the LRT to St. Albert will enhance our ability to attract both commercial and industrial development, which requires labour, good transportation and affordable housing. Council and our business leaders need to continue to aggressively pursue commercial and industrial businesses and proven developers.

Due to the fact that St. Albert eliminated the business tax, it was determined that there would be a split mill rate to compensate for the loss of the business tax. However, the split mill rate must remain at a reasonable rate.

The city has previously serviced city-owned land and sold it for non-residential development. This is not an ideal situation and where possible, it is best for the private sector to develop as they have the expertise and know the market.

Gareth Jones

To move forward on the annexed land in the north, collaborative efforts are essential between council, administration, developers and landowners.

Economic development has been an important priority with the present council, working with the 17 landowners in the annexed area in an attempt to put a joint servicing agreement in place — an essential element in moving forward development in the north. Collaborative actions were also taken to move forward Landrex's Erin Ridge North, Triple Five project, and Genstar's Northwest Urban Village.

The city needs to address how more assistance can be given to expedite development requests in shorter time frames and help applicants through the process.

We must ensure a balanced approach between residential and non-residential developments — each depends so much on the other.

I do believe the city could act as a developer. Having said that, the only possible avenue presently available is the Badger lands which are on approximately 80 acres, limiting the possible uses.

Aisling Pollard-Kientzel

While services in our city are to be admired, our residential taxation levels are not. Indeed, the current split between residential and non-residential taxes (89/11) means that there is a lot of work to be done in order to attain our goal of an 80/20 split.

Reaching this goal will primarily entail making our city more attractive to the appropriate businesses, through fair taxation and other incentives. This should be the main focus of council in the next term. I would like to note that while working towards this goal we must ensure that tax dollars are efficiently spent in the interest of our residents. This responsibility must also include, in my opinion, a dedication by council to the development of future locations for businesses to install themselves.

By creating significant incentives for businesses, the city must have appropriate locations that will not compromise the aesthetic of our community.

Read more about Aisling Pollard-Kietnzel here.