A long-delayed subdivision in Sturgeon County could finally move ahead if it receives approval from the Capital Region Board (CRB) next month.
The board is set to meet on Dec. 2 to consider the fate of the Quail Ridge subdivision, located just outside of St. Albert in the Sturgeon Valley.
The development calls for 90 country-residential lots on two parcels of property along the Sturgeon River on Sturgeon Road, between the Sturgeon Valley golf course and River Lot 56 Natural Area.
The development was first proposed in 2008 and received approval from Sturgeon County in 2009.
The board is required to review this development because it is so close to another municipality. The CRB was supposed to review the plan last year, but Sturgeon County withdrew the application after being told it would likely be defeated.
The CRB has a two-step process for reviewing proposed developments that is supposed to ensure the development is approved quickly.
Members voted early on to delegate responsibility for most applications to the board’s administration and a group of randomly chosen chief administrative officers.
If the administrators are not unanimous then it has to go to the full board, which is made up of one elected official, usually the mayor, from each municipality.
In this case the administrators are recommending the board reject the application because it is not dense enough and doesn’t meet targets the board set out in its original plan for the region.
Interim board chair Chris Sheard said the density of Quail Ridge does depend on how the board interprets those density targets and the administrators thought the interpretation should be done at the board level.
Sturgeon County Coun. Don McGeachy said he is glad to see the development finally moving closer to a decision. He said he supports the concept entirely and believes the developers, Beaverbrook Developments, have been exceedingly patient.
“These guys have paid their dues,” he said. “In every process they have been patient and understanding.”
St. Albert and Edmonton have both previously expressed concern about the development and both recommended Sturgeon County reject the proposal.
St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse said just because the city expressed concerns earlier in the process does not mean it will vote against Quail Ridge at the CRB.
St. Albert city council will look at the development later this month and that direction will determine how he should vote next month.
“This council hasn’t weighed in on this at all,” he said. “I am going to take direction from it.”
McGeachy said he hopes those objections are lifted this time around because the development should go forward.
“I can’t think of any reason why this should not go ahead.”
Under the CRB’s voting structure, any votes have to be approved by a double majority, representing both two-thirds of the municipalities and 75 per cent of the municipalities’ population.
