A draft plan for land in west St. Albert has been released, and members of the public will have a chance to give their thoughts at an upcoming Oct. 19 open house.
The St. Albert west area structure plan (ASP) will span from Carrot Creek on its west to Ray Gibbon Drive on its east, and run from the city’s south border to its former north border (prior to annexation from Sturgeon County). The open house will take place virtually on Zoom on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m.
Those unable to attend the event will be able to provide feedback on the draft at the city's Cultivate the Conversation website from Oct. 17-28.
The draft plan includes a residential area within the Cherot neighbourhood which surrounds Range Road 260, with two spots for potential school sites. To the north of Cherot is an employment area — intended for light industrial and office buildings — which includes the city-owned Badger Lands.
Below Cherot is the city’s planned Lakeview Business District, which extends slightly below Meadowview Drive. Above the rail-road tracks and between Cherot is a mixed-use development area, for commercial buildings to service the business district, and additional light industrial and office building development.
Further south, the land is mapped out as major open spaces — a category the city defines as areas to be enhanced and protected for their natural features as the city grows. This land includes Lois Hole Park.
In the south-east portion of the draft ASP, an additional parcel is allocated as employment lands.
A first virtual public open house prior to drafting the ASP was held back in May. The city also held additional consultation sessions with external and internal stakeholders, landowners, and Indigenous communities.
Asked why the upcoming open house will be held virtually instead of in person, as other city events such as council meetings now are, city spokesperson Marci Ng said in an email Thursday all public participation events related to the ASP were budgeted and selected in the spring.
"At that time, it was decided that virtual events provided the greatest ability to ensure an accessible, inclusive and transparent process," Ng said.
She said the event will be uploaded to the city's Cultivate the Conversation page for residents to watch later if they are unable to attend the live event.
Council members received the draft ASP as information during their Tuesday committee of the whole meeting.
'What we heard' report
Council members also received as information a 74-page ‘What we heard’ report.
The city invited an assortment of external stakeholders for consultation, such as utility providers and school divisions. Among the feedback of the nine stakeholders who attended, the city recorded a concern that with Ray Gibbon Drive becoming a high-volume and high-speed freeway, opportunities for modes of active transportation, such as biking and walking, would be lost.
The city noted in the report that there is an agreement between the City of St. Albert and the province that Ray Gibbon Drive will be a freeway with eight lanes in the future.
“If Ray Gibbon Drive is four lanes, we may be able to accommodate pedestrian crossings. However, there will be no pedestrian crossings on a freeway unless the road and pedestrian crossings are grade separated,” the city said in the report, meaning they would need to be at different heights to not disrupt traffic routes.
The city also met with nine landowners, who attended a stakeholder meeting on May 25.
Landowners noted there is market interest for commercial development along Ray Gibbon Drive, but the city’s current Municipal Development Plan (MDP) outlines the land use as primarily light industrial.
According to the report, landowners expressed concern that the MDP does not align to market demand, and said they were interested in incorporating more commercial development within the employment lands.
Within the report, the city notes that when considering whether there should be direct access to Lakeview Business District from Ray Gibbon Drive, councillors expressed interest in restricting access to Meadowview Drive and Giroux Road.
However, they noted this may change should an opportunity to house a business such as an IKEA emerge.
During discussions about the employment lands and Municipal Development Plan (MDP) in previous years, the council of the day expressed a need for a high quality of built environment, with requirements such as the area’s design, walkability with sidewalks, ample trees, and inclusion of public art.
When consulted on the employment lands recently, some council members expressed interest in relaxing the standards to enhance competition with other areas, and help speed along development.
Development concerns
When consulting with Indigenous community members, the report said feedback they received argued there needs to be more emphasis on animals and habitats, instead of centring the focus of land planning on human uses of land.
Similarly, members of the public the city surveyed also expressed trepidation about development.
While some respondents said development such as retail or a rec centre would benefit the area, others said it would worsen the area, with one respondent saying development would “absolutely destroy the peacefulness of the area” (27).
Twenty-eight people filled out the survey, 21 of whom said they currently use or visit the area largely for recreational activities such as walking and biking.
Thirty-four-per-cent of respondents said the development of a rec centre in the area would be a benefit.
Members of the public can sign up to be part of the info session here: https://conversation.stalbert.ca/west-asp. Those unable to attend the event can follow the link to leave feedback from Oct. 17-28.
