Fire safety, density and infrastructure were on the minds of Sturgeon County homeowners during a public hearing Tuesday night.
Sturgeon County council heard opinions from residents, developers, and officials during a public hearing on Aug. 26 about a proposed amendment to the Land Use Bylaw that would allow for a new residential development in Sturgeon Valley.
Jason White, who lives across from the proposed development, said fire risk and limited access routes make the project unsuitable.
“There’s not sufficient water flow available to handle a development that’s this close together,” White said, comparing the risk to his experience during the Fort McMurray wildfire. “There’s only one way out of this place. It would be very congested very quickly.”
The proposed bylaw seeks to rezone a portion of land at RL 64-54-25-4 from agricultural use to residential and open space districts to enable a 144-lot subdivision known as Pinnacle Village.
Currently, the land is zoned as Agriculture (AG), which does not permit multi-lot residential development. The bylaw proposes to change the zoning to Transitional Valley Residential (R7), Public/Private Open Space (POS), and Public Utility (PU). Any subdivision application would require approval of this redistricting first.
White also questioned the broader impact, suggesting the subdivision could open the door to higher-density projects.
“I believe this to be a gateway project,” he said. “Once one is approved, you would be inundated with applications at that density.”
Longtime resident and Edmonton firefighter Gene Guidoccio raised similar concerns after recalling his response to a neighbour’s house fire last winter. He noted it took more than 20 minutes before enough crews were on scene.
“With houses closer together, fire can jump quickly,” he said. “I don’t believe there are enough fire-suppression services to safely support this development.”
He said he believes they would need more fire services because of the increased density in the area.
Deputy Mayor Deanna Stang acknowledged the challenges but said rural fire response cannot be compared to urban standards.
“We do live in a rural area and to have urban standards in a rural area, I struggle with that analogy,” she said. “Our tanker service is different, but our crews are diligent.”
Developers responded to concerns, pointing to design standards and fire-resistant building materials.
“We would have a restrictive covenant that there would be no vinyl siding,” said developer Ed Basaraba. “Homes would use stone, brick, Hardie board or stucco, which is more fire resistant.”
Michael Reyes of Arcadis, representing the developers, requested council consider delaying second and third readings of the bylaw until after the release of the county’s fire master plan and the upcoming municipal election.
However, Mayor Alanna Hnatiw pushed back against delaying a decision, saying postponement would leave residents and developers uncertain.
“Regardless of what the fire master plan shows, it’s not putting fire flows in those hydrants,” she said. “I don’t think it changes anything.”
Council will consider next steps following the closing of the public hearing.
