It is becoming increasingly obvious that opponents of the 70 Arlington Dr. development will never be willing to embrace any change to the status quo, despite city hall’s efforts to include their input. It is time to simply do what is right for St. Albert and proceed with the development as specified at Monday night’s council meeting.
It is difficult to foresee how much more council can bend to the wishes and critics of the affordable housing proposal without neutering it all together. Four days of public hearings, 500 e-mails and correspondence, two days of design charettes in which 100 residents offered their input and a draft plan that incorporates much of that data and gives Akinsdale residents what they said they wanted still isn’t enough to placate those who are simply dead-set against it.
The draft density targets, as passed unanimously by council would see a minimum 28 units to a maximum of 34 built on site with basements, access to Attwood Park and a three-metre setback. The design would be a cul-de-sac, which would allow for adequate parking and could also allow basement suites to be developed, providing there is enough parking available.
Essentially council has addressed every single concern critics could have raised. There are, on the lower end of the range, fewer than half as many units now as compared to the 58 that were originally proposed. The units will now have basements, which the original concept did not have, much to the chagrin of Akinsdale residents. Parking will meet mandated requirements. Access to Atwood Park will be maintained and the units will be moved three metres away from adjacent properties. Almost every criticism residents were able to divine while strategizing how not to make the Arlington issue about low-income people has been addressed and council still had to endure a round of boos and jeers that prompted Mayor Nolan Crouse to chastise them.
The reason for the booing? The changes to the number of units. The 28 figure was on the high-end of the range that came out of the two charettes. Coun. Roger Lemieux amended the motion to a maximum of 34 to give Habitat for Humanity some wiggle room to make the project as affordable as possible. While the bottom end of the charette range was 12 units, that number was never going to be approved, both because of the impact it would have on the price of the homes and the fact it doesn’t help the city’s efforts to densify as much as the original 58-unit proposal would have.
It is plainly obvious that with every new criticism opponents of the project trot out that nothing short of leaving it as a park — which is gratefully no longer an option — will be acceptable. Council has done as much as it can to balance the concerns of Akinsdale residents with the larger project and still come up on the jeering end of the issue. Critics can threaten council with their votes all they want but no one has yet challenged Crouse for mayor in the upcoming municipal election and Akinsdale is one community of dozens within our city.
There is nothing left for council to do but move forward. Lemieux said he wants the “project to fly.” We share that sentiment.
