Council got an initial glance at the vision for its future Employment Lands, a 618-acre parcel of land located on the western edge of the city.
Administration presented a rough draft of the area structure plan principles to council Monday. The document established guiding principles in the areas of economic viability, environmental sustainability, usage, design and technical feasibility.
Coun. Sheena Hughes was critical of the city’s proposed design principles, which would encourage high quality landscaping, public art and trail linkages within the business park.
“What are we trying to accomplish?” she asked. “I don’t see walkways, squares, courtyards in Campbell North. Are we trying to do industrial or a mini city? It seems that we’re going in two different directions here.”
Gilles Prefontaine, chief community development officer, indicated that the inclusion of amenities such as walking trails and communal spaces, fit in with modern workspaces. The concept can be seen locally within the Edmonton Research and Development Park just south of St. Albert.
But councillors Hughes and Cam MacKay worried that the principles set out in the draft document would preclude interest from some developers.
“My feedback would be that we provide a blank canvas so that anybody who wants to come here and invest in our community we will listen to them. We don’t want to preclude them because they aren’t interested in walking trails,” said MacKay.
Using assessment data from 2014, administration prepared three assessment and tax yield scenarios for council to consider.
The report shows that medium to high density uses, which include owner-occupied warehouses and multi-tenant warehouses, industrial condominium complexes and multi-storey industrial office buildings respectively, yield significantly more tax revenue than a low density scenario ($2.5 million vs. $8.2 million versus $11.1 million.)
Prefontaine told council that a mix of uses and densities would likely result in the best return for the city, both in terms of tax revenue and the speed of build-out. The principles indicate that the lands should be set aside for primarily industrial, office and commercial use.
Council asked whether mixed-use was a possibility for the site.
Prefontaine indicated that residential development was not out of the question, but that servicing could support a limited number of homes.
The document highlights the opportunity to improve wildlife connectivity by creating wildlife underpasses on Ray Gibbon Drive. Public facilities should be integrated into the Employment Lands, with facilities such as snow dumps and recycling depots located away from Carrot Creek to avoid contamination.
Installation of high-speed communication infrastructure such as fibre optics, to be implemented through new engineering standards was also recommended, as a way to attract a broader range of industries, including knowledge-based companies.
Coun. Bob Russell reiterated “grave concerns” about the city acting as the lead developer when it only owned a minority of the land.
Council will provide feedback to planning and development on the principles presented Monday.
Administration will consult with landowners and other stakeholders about the draft principles before returning to council later this year.
