The words were great – again – now let’s see some solid, follow-up action. That was kind of the general reaction from business people Tuesday morning after hearing Mayor Nolan Crouse outline the city’s 20-point plan for economic development.
As the mayor did his around-the-horn look at what he called the nine key areas for non-residential development, outlining what was available and what the current status was in each, it sounded quite impressive at times. Throwing out names like Costco and Sobeys always catches people’s attention.
But for many business people – both those already in St. Albert and those who might be interested in locating here – the first indication of whether the city will really follow the words with action comes April 30. That’s when council votes on whether to go ahead with plans to develop the city’s next light industrial park in lands furthest west in the city, and to increase the available non-residential lands from about 337 hectares to 630.
That decision is central to the city’s future.
Crouse says landowners in the area to the west are, for the most part, opposed to the plan. They want the land to be residential development, for the simple reason that this would put more money in their pockets.
For the city to firmly send out the message that there’s a shift in thinking, that the city is becoming business-friendly, council has to stand firm and commit itself to the light industrial park.
“Without motivated landowners, nothing happens,” Crouse said.
Business people acknowledge it’s a tough spot for council because so many St. Albertans haven’t bought into the reality that light industrial and commercial developments are vital for the city’s future survival.
The idea behind the 20-point plan, Crouse said, is to rebalance the tax burden, to ease some of the heavy burden off homeowners with increased business developments.
Without that development it will be virtually impossible for the city to even dream about achieving that seemingly unreachable 80-20 split in residential/non-residential taxes.
Crouse is a politician and he speaks with great emotion, his voice rising with his passion. And that’s great. But it was even better that he threw down the challenge to owners of undeveloped lands to buy into the city’s plans for the future. If they don’t buy into it, if they condemn St. Albert to be forever a bedroom community, then they, not city council or administration, must take the blame for whatever future befalls the city.
This is the time, he said, for the city to step up and help those willing landowners move ahead, either with their own projects or to sell their lands to others interested in bringing their businesses to St. Albert.
Good on the city for taking these steps, for developing the 20-point plan, for creating the growth initiative team (although it is only a one-person team at the moment) to focus exclusively on growth related developments, for doing things designed to sell St. Albert to businesses.
As Crouse admitted, the stakes are high, for residents, for landowners, for developers and for the city.
The time is now to firmly make this commitment to attracting business and to stick to it.
