Residents vocal in their opposition to Boudreau Developments' high-density Riverbank Landing development in Oakmont were pinching themselves the day after council unanimously voted down a key amendment for the proposal.
"I was ecstatic with the result, and I think it truly reflected what we provided all day long," said resident Doug Hartman. "To me, this is a great example of #T8NTogether. This was a grassroots movement."
Monday's virtual public hearing brought out 72 residents over 11 hours, including people from Oakmont, Erin Ridge and Woodlands neighbourhoods. The city received a total of 63 written submissions in favour and 267 letters in opposition, including those submitted after deadline.
This was the community's golden opportunity to speak to council ahead of their decision on whether to change the Oakmont area structure plan (ASP) and land use bylaw (LUB) to accommodate Boudreau Developments' proposal for Riverbank Landing, which would see six buildings, including two 26-storey towers, built near the Sturgeon River.
A majority of the speakers, all but five, were opposed to the project. They pointed out concerns about traffic congestion, impact on emergency services, environmental impacts to the Sturgeon River, building heights and lack of mass transit within close proximity to the development.
Julie Djkowich, a mother and resident in Erin Ridge, had concerns about what impacts increased traffic would have on emergency service response times. It took four minutes for emergency services to respond when her young son was choking, and she doubted they would respond as quickly should the development go forward.
Mathiew Carrier decided to move to Orchard Court with the knowledge the property behind him was zoned low-residential. Boudreau's plans seem "out of touch" with the community, he said.
"Nothing in there said we would have a skyscraper," he said. "People are already starting to put houses on the market because they are scared of this project."
Ryan Degenhardt, an Oakmont resident, questioned whether St. Albert's fire department has the required manpower or equipment needed to fight a fire inside a 26-storey tower. Hiring just one additional firefighter costs the city approximately $100,000 a year, he estimated.
"We would still be dependent on Spruce Grove and Edmonton to help in severe emergencies," he said. "The public tax burden will be substantial."
Lloyd Wiebe moved to Oakmont in 1993 and shares a fence with the original Ted and Lois Hole residential lot. Based on a June 15 value impact assessment study assembled by Gettel Appraisals Ltd., the development will actually decrease the value of residential properties between five to nine per cent depending on the location and proximity of those homes.
"You need to remember you are elected to articulate the community vision the way it should be, not go the way of the developer, who just wants to make a profit," Wiebe told council.
Richard Brooks, a Botanica resident, said he supported the development because of its ability to generate new tax revenue for the city. With the developer taking care of some duties like sidewalk maintenance, a larger percentage could be distributed to residents.
David Howe, who also spoke in support of the project, said it seemed the public hearing was dominated by "vocal minorities," and he believed council should vote with all residents in mind.
"You're right, this doesn't mesh with the old St. Albert. But we are a growing city and we need to understand and build properly for the next phase of growth," he said.
The sheer diversity of the speakers themselves impressed Oakmont resident Jerry Husar.
"We possibly had the youngest speaker ever at a public hearing," Husar said, referring to six-year-old Isabelle Dean's presentation, where she asked council to not take her "sunshine away" by allowing the development to move forward.
"It wasn't just Erin Ridge and Oakmont, that's what was great about it. There were so many people who cared."
Back to the drawing board
Dave Haut, president of Boudreau Devleopments, said he was "disappointed" with city council's decision to vote down a key amendment, but "perhaps they weren't quite ready for the overall vision with the height of the towers."
"There's more work to do here," Haut said. "I don't believe it was a very strong statement unanimously ... we like the vision, but we can't endorse this form of it. If you can present a form that's better, we would happily do it. That's what I take away."
Before the vote, Haut said he told council the company would support reducing the height of the two towers to 79 metres instead of 100 metres, while keeping the rest of the buildings at 25 metres.
"That would cost us a little bit of density but that's a compromise we would make to get a quick decision," he said.
Now it's back to the drawing board. Doing more community consultation in the form of open houses and focus groups will help the developer figure out what the community wants within their proposed vision, he said.
"It's a complete redo. It is a lot of work, but it also has to be embraced by the community. If it's not, then we just won't do it."
