A regional board has given the green light to a revised version of Sturgeon County's Villeneuve Airport area structure plan, including cutting the land included in the plan in half.
The approval comes in the wake of many closed-door resolution committee meetings after the county filed a formal dispute in May alleging the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board (EMRB), a regional growth board, breached process and was discriminatory when it rejected the initial area structure plan (ASP) application in April.
The revised plan for the Villeneuve Airport sets out to develop a local employment area — rather than a major employment area, as proposed previously — surrounding the Villeneuve Airport. It is estimated to generate 1,700 jobs and have an economic impact of about $1.8 billion over 20 years.
The local employment area will revolve around the aerospace, green technology, logistics, and agricultural innovation industries. The original ASP noted some $370 million in infrastructure investment would be needed prior to the area's industrialization, but Sturgeon County spokesperson Megan Candie said in an email the revised version of the ASP requires an unspecified lesser amount of investment.
Other changes include a significant reduction in area coverage, as the revised ASP covers 55 per cent less land, as well as a commitment any necessary infrastructure investment will be funded by the county through off-site levies and other mechanisms.
A report to the board written by the dispute resolution committee said amendments made to the ASP resolved the concerns board members shared in April when the original ASP was rejected.
“The revised ASP reduces the intensity of the development through removing regional references and restating the purpose of the ASP as supporting employment growth opportunities for the county's local sector,” the report states.
Sturgeon County Mayor Alanna Hnatiw said she was relieved the EMRB approved the ASP, which the county has been developing for over five years.
“I'm relieved that we have an (ASP) that's approved and I'm really excited about the future opportunities around the Villeneuve Airport,” Hnatiw said.
She also said she is confident the revised ASP will accomplish its intended goal, and the major land reduction was an easy change to make because the county has no intention of developing past what's still included for more than 20 years.
“We've removed the future study areas and future study areas were called future study areas because they were far enough on the horizon that they were actually areas that would potentially be developed beyond the planning horizon of the current growth plan,” she said.
“We had really just acknowledged that maybe past 2044 something may happen there, but obviously the board had issues with us even contemplating a future that far off or what may transpire there.”
The EMRB, a coalition of 13 regional municipalities including St. Albert, is responsible for approving member municipality's ASPs, as these plans must be in alignment with the board's long-term growth plan, which dictates things like housing density, economic development targets, and general growth planning.
In April, six board members voted against the ASP, including St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron, arguing the ASP as originally proposed was too vague and didn't conform to the board's long-term growth plan.
The board held a special meeting on Sept. 15 to discuss the dispute resolution committee's findings, which Spruce Grove Mayor David Acker, who served as the committee chair, told the board were inconclusive.
Despite the alleged discriminatory treatment and breach of process being inconclusive, the board approved the county's revised ASP, as recommended by the dispute resolution committee.
The board approved the revised ASP, with only Fort Saskatchewan Mayor Gale Katchur opposed.
Katchur declined the Gazette's interview request; however, during the meeting on Sept. 15 she said the ASP, despite the revisions, would allow the county to “grow unfettered,” which she felt was unfair to urban municipalities who have to conform to density targets.
“Calling it a major employment area versus a local employment area is exactly the same thing,” Katchur said. “A duck is a duck is a duck.”
“The (urban municipalities) have to absorb all of the density in order to accommodate the growth which accommodates these jobs, and yet we have to conserve our land in order to provide for these people to go out to these employment areas.”
Katchur also argued that if the board was to approve ASPs like the county's based solely on their potential economic impact in the region, then “the growth plan needs to be thrown out.”
“To me this is growing unfettered, and if we're going to allow this then we should be able to come back and say, ‘Well, then the (urban municipalities) should be able to grow unfettered as well,’” she said.
“We don't want to have to have highrises all the time, we don't want to have to have 35 to 45 residential units per hectare ... and if we're going to do that, in my opinion, let's just throw the plan out and let everybody just grow how they want to grow.”
Unlike Katchur, other board members who previously voted against the ASP such as Beaumont Mayor Bill Daneluik, Stony Plain Mayor William Choy, Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, and Leduc Mayor Bob Young all supported the revisions and voted in favour of the ASP.
St. Albert city spokesperson Cory Sinclair said in an email Heron was unable to attend the Sept. 15 board meeting, so Coun. Wes Brodhead attended in her place and voted in favour of the revised ASP.
“In our opinion, the changes that were made to the proposal were significant enough to allow us to see the path forward,” Brodhead told the board.
Next steps
Now the EMRB has given its approval to the ASP, Sturgeon County council must pass second and third reading of the plan before it's formally in place.
The revised ASP says the county plans to develop the area in three phases. Development will take several years and a precise timeline has yet to be determined.
“The plan area will be gradually developed over time,” the ASP reads. “Until there is sufficient market demand, agricultural uses are expected to remain a predominant land use in the plan area.”
While the ASP also includes a list of steps that will need to be taken during development with respect to water supply, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, internet services, and the ongoing operation of the Villeneuve Airport, the document also says there are “several areas” covered under the plan that will require special consideration because of the presence of wetlands, marshes, and areas that have “potential for cultural heritage resources being located onsite.”
“Prior to development occurring in the plan area additional study and review shall be required,” the ASP reads.
“The results of these studies could result in the need for additional municipal and provincial approval process to be undertaken prior to development.”
