Council needs to change its zoning rules if it wants to see business in Campbell North anytime soon, say local business owners.
City council held a public hearing Monday on a proposal to allow day cares, churches and medical offices to set up in St. Albert's two business park land-use districts.
St. Albert has two regions zoned as business parks: Riel South, near the Enjoy Centre and Campbell North, near Servus Credit Union Place. Both are currently under development and largely vacant.
That's because the rules for business parks are too restrictive, said Paul Wong of PJSJ Holdings Ltd., developer of the 10-hectare Campbell North site. The zoning permits only a handful of land uses, including research labs and commercial schools, and he's had to turn away many interested applicants as a result. "It's not giving the business community the sense that they're welcome."
Council has to decide if it wants to see these zones developed quickly or at an acre per year pace for 10 years, Wong said. "This is not about medical use or day care or religious assembly. It's about a zone that is very limited in scope."
Clashing visions
Business owners have recently approached councillors about creating day cares, medical offices and churches in Campbell North, said Mayor Nolan Crouse, so council asked administration to look into changing the rules for business parks.
Administration recommended that council allow medical offices in business parks but keep out day cares and churches. They would create traffic problems and could expose kids to industry-related risks, according to a report to council. Churches could also sap city revenue as they would not have to pay property tax.
Churches and day cares are already permitted in many other parts of the city, said planning and development director Curtis Cundy. Business parks do not have green spaces and are often near recycling depots and liquor stores, which makes them inappropriate places for day cares.
The business park designation was meant to draw high-tech and professional jobs to St. Albert, said business and strategic services general manager Bob Treidler, and it's been continually watered down over the years to include other uses. Day cares and churches would not fit the goals of the region and would not improve the city's tax base.
There simply aren't enough high-tech, professional businesses out there to fill Campbell North, countered Wong, who has not sold any lots in the region in two years. "How many commercial schools do you think we're going to build?"
There's plenty of demand for medical services, he noted, but they're not allowed to set up in Campbell North.
There are a lot of empty buildings in Campbell as a result, said Ivan Mayer, president of the Riel Business Park Association. "There's got to be a wider range of businesses in these parks."
The proposal before council was a step in the right direction, but he questioned whether many churches and daycares would be interested in moving to a business park.
Campbell would be sold out tomorrow if it were zoned CIS, Wong said, referring to the commercial and industrial service designation, but that's too broad a category for his taste. "CIS allows for everything. [Business park] doesn't allow for a lot. We need something in the middle."
Staff will work with Wong to see if there was a way to resolve his concerns, said city manager Bill Holtby.
Council will resume its public hearing at next week's council meeting.
