City council will take a month to mull over a decision that will shape future development in St. Albert for the next generation, but Mayor Nolan Crouse has already made up his mind.
After a three-hour discussion about the city's need for industrial land Monday night, council accepted a recent report but stopped short of approving a recommendation to identify 700 to 900 acres (283 to 364 hectares) for industrial development. They opted instead to study the issue until Aug. 15.
Crouse has already decided that he won't support the recommendation.
"I'm just not going to support that many acres," he said in an interview.
It's too much land to subject to an amendment process that would require public hearings, he said.
"That might take years," Crouse said. "The landowners that own that land have to be part of that process."
The city is trying to decide how much of the 3,300 acres annexed from Sturgeon County four years ago should be developed as light industrial.
A recent land needs study concluded that the city needs nearly 900 acres to maximize industrial growth potential in the next 25 years. It said the city should have a five-year supply of shovel ready land, in lots of various sizes, on the market at any given time.
Crouse said he won't support that much industrial land despite campaigning on a promise to deliver economic development.
"I think we need a significant amount of industrial land and I haven't wavered from that," he said. "It's just that I don't think we need that amount."
On Monday evening, councillors had many questions for the city's business and tourism development officials and the consultants hired for the study.
Coun. Wes Brodhead wondered why the report assumes the market can absorb industrial land at twice the rate as St. Albert has experienced in the recent past.
He also wondered about choices to include some existing land parcels in the analysis while leaving out others.
"It seems like the report is leading us to a conclusion that we need an awful lot of land," he said.
"You're asking us to change the face of St. Albert. I recognize the need for a diversified tax base but this is a big chunk to swallow."
There were also questions about the population growth assumed — one to 1.5 per cent — while the Capital Region Board is projecting a higher amount.
The city's economic and tourism development branch hired the firm Millier Dickinson Blais to conduct the study earlier this year. The firm specializes in studies of this nature.
The team analyzed the regional economy and predict strong demand for industrial land that will include St. Albert, said consultant Jamie Cook.
"There is no magic formula," he said. "This is something you have to have an eye for."
Crouse also felt the report was commissioned to achieve a particular result.
"It's very much, I think, slanted to the maximum allowable and the maximum capable [amount of industrial land]," he said.
Coun. Malcolm Parker said it's time for the city to act on the report, which he felt "covered all the elements."
"Otherwise, we will continue to exist as a bedroom community," he said. "The question is, if not now, when? And if not us, who?"
Input
Several business leaders urged council to heed the report's recommendations.
The St. Albert Chamber of Commerce has for years been calling for the city to designate 700 acres for industrial development. Current chair Charlene Zoltenko renewed that message, saying that city hall is missing entrepreneurial vision.
"This needs to turn 180 degrees," she said. "Each of you campaigned in the last election on the importance of economic development. Now is the time to make the tough decisions and embrace your leadership role in taking us where we need to go."
Former chamber chair Joe Becigneul said industrial construction is happening at a brisk pace in Edmonton while St. Albert is still deciding what to with land that was annexed four years ago.
"We continue to study and colour the map," he said. "You need to get stuff moving, folks."
There's plenty of demand for industrial land, said Ivan Mayer of the Riel Business Park Association. He warned of the consequences if the city doesn't improve the split between residential and non-residential taxes.
"We will not be sustainable as a city and will eventually become part of our southern neighbour," he said.
