New residents of St. Albert move here knowing the cost of housing and property taxes are higher than other communities in the Capital region. Presumably, for those who can afford it, cost concerns are secondary to an attractive quality of life in a place with city amenities and a smaller-town feel.
For many years that ‘community of choice’ formula has defined St. Albert, but in recent years of low growth questions have been raised about whether this balancing act is sustainable. With the cost of growth in the annexed lands about to reach new highs, city council needs to be more creative in how it treats new developments to ensure St. Albert does not stagnate under the weight of its elite status.
The cost of doing business in St. Albert grew this week when city council approved in principle an offsite levy structure that relies heavily on developers to help pay for new roads, water and sewer extensions into the annexed lands. In some cases those levy charges will translate into roughly $23,000 per lot, putting St. Albert among the highest of municipalities in the region. But that was deemed the lesser of two evils compared to an earlier proposal that called on current taxpayers to subsidize growth infrastructure to the tune of $95 million.
Clearly council did the right thing by holding firm to the philosophy that growth should pay for itself. But with high levy rates council should also brace itself for the possibility that it has hurt the city’s prospects for timely growth. Developers are not happy about the new scheme, and have issued dire warnings about growth stagnation if costs get out of hand. While some of the rhetoric is pure lobbying, the threat should not be taken lightly in a regional market where many developers own land in multiple communities.
St. Albert needs to overcome its reputation of not being business friendly and streamlining development decisions is a good place to start. The most recent neighbourhood planning example, Erin Ridge North, went through years of delays and revisions before plans saw the light of day in council chambers. Other initiatives, from smart growth to creating a joint servicing strategy for the annexed lands to developing Campbell North have dragged on months or years longer than anyone could possibly foresee. In a city starved for growth — commercial and industrial in particular — that is bad business.
While no one is suggesting council do away with sound planning principles or public consultation, this type of delay is a recipe for null growth given new cost realities. Councillors need to take a leadership role to ensure new development is expedited rather than waiting for plans to materialize. They have shown some positive leadership in this area, with Mayor Nolan Crouse and staff meeting with major employers and businesses in the hopes of selling them on St. Albert. But council must also ensure administration has the proper resources and support to do its job and possibly trim away at some bureaucratic processes. Just as important is making sound, yet timely decisions and not pushing off reports for several months, as is so often the case.
At the same time council must remain vigilant about ensuring property owners receive fair value for their tax dollars. The city’s growth rate proves in part taxpayers do not have limitless pockets, as growth dipped below one per cent even during Alberta’s boom years. If the city’s balancing act starts to teeter, the consequences of stagnant growth will make $95 million seem like pocket change.
