The City of St. Albert has taken a step forward in its efforts to fast-track a major infrastructure project on the city’s west side.
To accelerate plans to get the servicing project “shovel-ready” for development, city councillors gave chief administrative officer Kevin Scoble approval to obtain land rights to support the development of a 1,200-millimetre-wide sanitary sewer trunk line.
Project 8, officially known as the North Interceptor Trunk Phase 2B, is a multi-million dollar utility project that will run under Ray Gibbon Drive, near the CN Railway west to Carrot Creek and north along Giroux Road to service both Avenir and Elysian Fields.
The sewer line is intended to service the Range Road 260 lands council approved for a future recreation site. The parcel, owned by Rohit Land Development, is west of Ray Gibbon Drive and south of Villeneuve Road.
As part of finalizing the design, the city is required to secure permanent utility right of ways to place the sewer line along identified private properties and secure additional temporary construction easements, said Dawny George, director of engineering. A city spokesperson said they were not able to share any details of ongoing land negotiations.
After consulting affected private-property owners, up to $50,000 was decided as fair compensation to secure the land rights. The money would be taken from the city's off-site levy recovery fund. Council approved the recommendation unanimously.
In March, council gave city administration the green light to collaborate with Rohit on accelerating efforts to get the lands ready for development.
Typically, the city wouldn’t be securing its land rights in this way as lands needed for large-scale utility projects would be dedicated to the city as public utility lots during the subdivision process.
But pressing the fast-forward button is necessary to make sure the lands would be eligible for any future stimulus from the provincial government.
“There is no time to wait for the traditional planning process to play out if we want to obtain a shovel-ready project as soon as possible,” George told council.
Servicing over Ray Gibbon Drive would fit in well with the types of projects the province will be looking for, Heron said.
"Not only does it provide construction jobs for servicing, but it also has permanent long-term jobs when we get the Lakeview Business District going."
She estimated the project could create around 50 jobs in the construction industry and about 350 permanent jobs in Lakeview.
"If we were to get that stimulus money, we could probably start construction this summer."
Regardless of any financial boost from the province, Heron noted the city is required to service the lands within the next few years as part of its agreement with Rohit. In turn, Rohit would donate 59 acres of Range Road 260 land for a future recreation facility, free of charge.
“If we don’t do it, we’re going to lose the rec lands,” she said.
With a total cost of approximately $20 million, Heron asked whether a borrowing bylaw would be brought forward to fund the servicing work. Then as the work goes on, developers would pay the off-site levy fees into a reserve fund, leaving the project's cost to the city at around $7 million, she said.
"So it doesn't cost the residents anything, there's no tax increases."
Diane McMordie, director of finance, said a borrowing bylaw is likely and would be paid back using the city's off-site levy recovery fund, with no expected impact to taxes.
Discussions are ongoing with city administration for how accelerated timelines will align with a land donation agreement, said Russell Dauk, vice-president land and commercial for Rohit.
Currently, Rohit is working alongside city administration to consult engineers and work through design items to figure out the infrastructure's exact alignment.
"We're making good progress in terms of the design of the sewer lines, the water lines, the roadways and everything that can allow this area to move forward," Dauk said.
