Several St. Albert residents fear the city's latest foray into downtown redevelopment will leave a long-term sting for taxpayers.
About 30 people attended Monday's public hearing into the downtown area redevelopment plan (DARP). Drafted by Toronto-based consultant Urban Strategies Inc., the plan presents a 25-year vision for the area.
"This is about anticipating and managing and directing change in the downtown," said Urban Strategies partner Mark Reid. "We have taken this vision statement and given it a physical form."
Four neighbourhoods
DARP would add about 7,000 residents to St. Albert's downtown divided into four character neighbourhoods, each built using high quality architecture and building materials. Roads would be reorganized to encourage slower traffic and there would be room for pedestrians and cyclists to get around. Several parking structures would be introduced to the area, accommodating up to 3,500 vehicles.
The Gateway to the Trail neighbourhood would start at the corner of St. Albert Trail and St. Anne Street, where two towers up to 25 storeys would welcome people to the downtown. From there, the Perron District would be home to the commercial space in the downtown. St. Anne Street would extend beyond Taché Street and around the curling club before ending up at Grandin mall.
A new square is proposed in the Riverfront area, which would see Millennium Park opened up for recreation and city events. Among the suggestions for the park are creating an amphitheatre that could be used as a skating rink in the winter and building a skateboard park.
Millennium Heights neighbourhood would become the main residential area in the downtown. It would extend across Sir Winston Churchill Avenue to the Grandin mall redevelopment.
Reid said the plan would take anywhere from 25 to 40 years to implement. The city would need to complete several more studies to determine specifics like a new parking strategy, public art strategy and urban design standards.
"We've created a framework where a whole bunch of new things can be added," Reid said.
Feedback
Both the St. Albert Public Library and the Arts and Heritage Foundation (AHF) used the hearing as a chance to present their own plans for public spaces in the downtown. AHF chair Alan Murdock asked council to purchase the St. Albert Community Hall so Profiles gallery can expand for a St. Albert Visual Arts Centre.
Meanwhile, library board chair Kelly Aisenstat continued to push the need for a larger library, which he said could be located across from St. Albert Place next to a proposed civic square. The $20-million library project is currently unfunded in the city's 10-year capital plan.
"We think you are going to need … an anchor," he said. "We want the library to be the heart of the new downtown."
St. Albert Taxpayers' Association president Lynda Flannery said she was so concerned about the effect the plan could have on taxpayers it warrants a plebiscite vote in the Oct. 18 election. She said the project was more about council's wish to create a legacy for itself and less about building the city.
"We see DARP as a money pit," she told council. "We believe the vast majority of St. Albertans are satisfied with the current downtown."
Fellow taxpayers' association member and council candidate Cam MacKay also voiced concerns with the plan. He suggested council find an economic draw for the downtown like clustering several businesses together. Without a draw, the area will suffer, he said.
City manager Bill Holtby told council DARP is a land-use bylaw, a vision for the area that's not meant to address issues such as funding.
Coun. Roger Lemieux said the downtown plan will help ensure St. Albert grows into the future.
"If you have a house and you know it needs repairs, you prepare for that," he said. "We're planning so the community doesn't get hit with the repairs."
Coun. James Burrows noted the absence of input from either the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce or St. Albert economic advisory committee (SAEDAC). He felt input from either group would be beneficial.
In a separate interview, SAEDAC chair Malcolm Parker said the group was in the process of reviewing the plan and presenting its position to council when the public hearing resumes on Aug. 16.
