Planning a city is tricky business. The vision for the community supposedly drives city planning; that is, until politics, special interests, and money enter the picture.
Such is the case with the development of Erin Ridge North. The contentious property in question is the King of Kings Lutheran Church land, on the east side of St. Albert Trail. Landrex has the land under contract. The St. Albert developer wants to put in commercial development along the trail, as well as a multifamily development that sits adjacent to Ebony Way.
A mix of commercial and residential development on that piece of land seems reasonable, but there are a lot of moving parts. First of all, Mayor Nolan Crouse and Coun. Gilles Prefontaine have made it clear they want the entire Landrex development to be commercial. They say they don’t want to see any residential development on the trail (although, according to Landrex’s proposal, the residential component is separated from the trail by the commercial development). The politicians also can claim they’re working hard toward an 80/20 split of residential and commercial tax assessment.
Further muddying the waters is a proposed development just north of Landrex’s, on the other side of Everitt Drive. Cameron Development also wants to put in a commercial development, and in a letter to council, Cameron says it’s “adamantly opposed” to the creation of a commercial site in such close proximity to its site. Cameron further states that it undertook its project on the basis that it would have the opportunity “to be built out and tenanted as the sole majority commercial opportunity in the immediate area.”
What happens next is anyone’s guess. Landrex says it’ll halt the project if it has to do the entire development as commercial or commercial and mixed use. Cameron doesn’t want a commercial site south of its development, and at least two city politicians want to do something that neither Landrex nor Cameron wants.
Would a municipal planning commission have pre-empted the current situation? St. Albert used to have a planning commission until it was jettisoned in 2008. Nearly two years ago, Crouse told the Gazette it was nixed “because there was a desire to become more business and development friendly. There was a lot of concern that the commission would make a recommendation to council and council would have to hear all the information over and over again. Presenters had to line up twice and development folks had to convince a commission and then council.”
Just because St. Albert’s planning commission was cumbersome then doesn’t mean it has to be that way now. Planning commissions can create consistency and cohesiveness when determining how to grow a community, and they allow experts and decision-makers to collaborate.
Council is the ultimate authority when it comes to making land use decisions, but it should be one step removed from the direct process.
