A new development in the annexed lands called Erin Ridge North may be one step closer to happening, but the city still has some lingering reservations.
On Monday, administration presented council with a host of outstanding issues it has with the proposed Erin Ridge North area structure plan (ASP).
The issues have to be resolved before the ASP can be approved and development can begin. The remaining items include how the development will affect traffic in the area, utility servicing and capacity, a stormwater management plan and the loss of a wetland.
Coun. James Burrows is frustrated with a process he says is taking too long.
“Do you not feel it’s unreasonable some of the things you’re asking this developer are untimely after a year?” Burrows asked administration at the meeting.
Nearly six years have passed since Landrex Developers Inc. and several landowners in the area first submitted an ASP to Sturgeon County for the project then known as Hunter Ridge. ASP approval was delayed until St. Albert absorbed part of the area in its 2007 annexation agreement with the county.
Since then, Landrex renamed the project Erin Ridge North and shrank it from a massive 16,000-person neighbourhood to a residential community of about 3,000.
According to director of planning and development Curtis Cundy, the city needs to ensure all the land surveys, geotechnical reports and traffic analyses are complete before the developer starts moving earth.
“We’ve found that by doing the work up front, it saves some time later on in the process,” said Cundy. “The worst thing you want to do is not do a geotechnical [report], and find out later on that when you get there to do residential that you’ve got a very high water table and you’re going to have a lot of issues.”
Patrick Shaver, Landrex’s project manager for Erin Ridge North, said most of the outstanding issues with the city have been resolved, and after six years the final ASP will be submitted in the next few weeks.
“We feel that we’re at a point of enough information, enough studies, enough time has passed that it’s time for a final submission for the area restructure plan,” Shaver said. “There will be a complete submission of the document sometime in June.”
Shaver said most of the issues had to do with technical reports that needed to be revised to meet the city’s standards. He added the agreement between the landowners in the area over apportioning utility service capacity has been solved, and the wetland and tree stand will be protected.
“Any sensitive area within the woodland is being retained, that’s not being touched,” said Shaver.
Since the meeting, Burrows said he’s happy with how the process is moving along and he thinks the city needs to get development going in the annexed lands if it wants to attract more businesses and reach its 80-20 residential to non-residential tax split.
“We need to get something going there,” Burrows said. “If we don’t have more economic development we can’t get to the 80-20.”
According to Shaver, if the ASP earns approval and goes ahead to a public hearing construction could begin as early as this fall.
