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LETTER: Council must safeguard the trust residents put in them

letter-sta

Council, it is your turn to honour commitments and safeguard public trust!

The pending June 22 hearing of Boudreau Communities' request for land use changes presents more than a decision for council. They have the choice of honouring long-standing land use commitments or going in a different direction. As presented by Boudreau Communities, the new direction will not only affect the landowners immediately adjacent to the targeted lands, but also the larger communities of Oakmont, Erin Ridge and neighboring Woodlands and Ironwood. The proposed legislative changes to existing bylaws are foundational to Boudreau Communities proceeding with its development. Boudreau Communities has shared its projected plans for the targeted lands in two public open houses. These plans significantly deviate from the existing Oakmont area structure plan, which is the basis of the surrounding Oakmont community. Now Boudreau Communities has been clear in stating the current commercial and residential land use zoning is not good enough for their proposal. Regrettably, it is the extent and scale of the planned development that fundamentally challenges the compatibility of the proposed development with the existing affected residents and communities. Amendment of existing land use zoning and acceptance of height schedule allowances should not proceed.

From our perspective, the current zoning is appropriate. Two of the target properties are presently zoned for commercial use while the third property can be developed for a range of residential use. The latter property affords an opportunity to build a transition between commercial and single use residences. Superimposing an expansion of development possibilities for all three properties is not in the best interests of St. Albert. A projected increase in residential tax revenue may on the surface appear to be positive, however it does not come without obligation. Those obligations include: site specific matters such as resolving traffic management issues resulting from a significantly increased number of vehicles accessing the targeted lands, the need to greatly expand the capability of the fire protection service to handle fires in buildings outside the reach of current equipment, and wastewater management; city-wide implications in the delivery of service, involving transit, recreation lands, facilities and traffic management.

Council should not/cannot come into addressing this matter from a vacuum. There has been a very vocal response by the residents of St Albert to the location and scope of development. Council has been the recipient of resident input in addition to what has been published for the forthcoming public hearings. On balance, council is duty bound to ensure that residents and Boudreau Communities both have an opportunity to formally express their advice, and a public hearing is a regulatory duty. However, council also has an overriding duty to honor the long-standing direction it has previously set out for the development of the Oakmont neighborhood. This is again being echoed in the current update process for the municipal development plan, Flourish. Council needs to safeguard the trust that residents put into elected officials and the staff that support them to ensure St. Albert is developed in a fair and pragmatic way that will benefit residents and businesses into the future.

Ken and Valerie Crutchfield

St. Albert

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