With no options left, the city is moving forward to expropriate 17.9 acres of Kingswood land that has sat undeveloped for years – but doing so could prove costly.
The city and Canterra Developments have publicly battled over the lands in the Kingswood area for nearly a decade. On Monday, city council agreed to formally start the process of expropriating that land.
Mayor Cathy Heron said the city tried everything to come to some kind of an agreement with Canterra, including negotiating some kind of a lease agreement.
“We don’t want to be held hostage to a land developer (and) for them to determine what the municipality needs,” she said.
“There’s a lot of things that municipalities need land for and you would never want a developer to dictate that to you. There’s no park in the entire area of Kingswood. There’s nothing and there’s a lot of kids out there and lots of families and it’s not fair.”
The two parties initially butted heads over the location of a central park and school site. While development in Kingswood first began in 1986, it stalled when Canterra voiced concerns over a connector road and the possibility of a high school being built on land that is supposed to be handed over to the city at some point as municipal reserve.
Ryan Brown, vice-president and general manager of Canterra, told the Gazette Friday the company plans to challenge the city’s expropriation efforts.
He said in 2007, the city announced its intention to put a regional high school in Kingswood, which would have led to higher traffic volumes.
He said Canterra did not co-operate with the city by turning over the land “in order to protect the neighbourhood.”
“Our view is the city is being very aggressive,” he said in an email. “A suitable solution would begin with the city being upfront about its intentions. We find it very difficult to believe that the city would be willing to buy land without a specific use and since the city is not willing to be forthright, we had no choice but to reject their offer.”
Brown said the company reached out to the city recently to ask about its intentions but received a response that the site would either be a public park, a school site or a combination of the two. The city was not able to provide detailed development plans, Brown added.
Provincial legislation lets municipalities take land for a variety of reasons. Whenever a developer moves ahead on a subdivision, a municipality is entitled to 10 per cent of land, but if the municipality decides to expropriate the land instead, it has to compensate Canterra.
The company can object to the expropriation, which will lead to a public hearing.
Brown said since the city is unwilling to show what they intend to use the land for, the company is not willing to take the risk of allowing something to be built that could negatively impact the existing neighbourhood.
Cost
The city report that accompanied council’s decision to begin expropriating the land noted costs could vary significantly and administration would provide further advice on costs at a later stage in the proceedings.
In September 2012, the city released a report with an estimate on the land costs. The total assessment value for the park and school site came in at $27 million.
Heron said the actual cost would be much lower, since the city is only going for one specific piece of land.
Depending on what action Canterra takes, the process could take months or years, but Heron said she feels confident the city will have the land title by the summer.
“I needed to find a solution,” she said.
“This solution comes with an initial cost but will be recouped in the future.”
She said the city plans to get its money back when Canterra moves ahead with another development project, at which time it will be required to hand over the land it owes the city or cash in lieu.
Heron admitted it could take a while to recoup the full cost.
“It might be next year, it might be 30 years,” she said. “They will not be getting another subdivision in the city of St. Albert, because we are the subdivison authority. We will not give them another subdivision until they give us the municipal reserve, which every other developer gladly hands over.”
Brown said Canterra is aware of the requirements to dedicate municipal reserves as part of the development process and intends to comply in the future when the company moves ahead with further subdivisions.
Former mayor Nolan Crouse, who was on council in 2012, explained the reason the previous council decided not to expropriate the lands was due to the associated cost.
At that time, the council of the day passed a motion that essentially stopped any future approvals for Canterra until the Kingswood land matter was resolved.
Crouse said he was very insistent while dealing with Canterra because he wanted to maintain the values of the community.
“This developer has chosen not to transfer title and he was waiting and hoping for this,” he said.
“If it is to turn it into a park, the potential is you have to expropriate at a significant price.”
Crouse pointed out multiple past councils passed on the option of expropriation in favour of pursuing other avenues.
Brown said future development in Kingswood will depend on market conditions and the impact the expropriation will have on the neighbourhood.
“The uncertainty caused by the city beginning in 2007 resulted in a lack of confidence from consumers to purchase land in Kingswood,” he added. “The last stage should have taken one to three years to sell/build out but instead has taken over a decade.”
Schools
While the school site is at the heart of the controversy, Heron said the city’s school boards may not even be considering that spot any more.
She added she still believes the area would be a good place for a school, possibly even an elementary school.
“Let’s say we build a school there in 15 years,” she said. “Having a soccer field there for 15 years would be much better for the community than having a farmer’s field. You can’t even throw a Frisbee for your dog out there.”
St. Albert Public trustee Cheryl Dumont confirmed while Kingswood was initially a possible school spot, the board wants to focus on areas that are growing. While no firm decision has been made, she said the north and west areas of the city are the ones currently seeing growth.
St. Albert Catholic trustee Joe Becigneul said the Kingswood site has fallen off the board's radar and their focus is now on Riverside.
