City council faces the unenviable task of choosing between the right and easy when it takes up the case of the proposed Habitat for Humanity/Apollo townhome development on Arlington Drive next month. Unfortunately the right decision will not be popular with Akinsdale residents, but council cannot ignore the social good that will come from giving the project its blessing.
It is the Protestant school district, not the surrounding residents, that owns the land as real property and can do with it as it pleases. Given a school — which would generate significantly more traffic than the proposed townhome complex — is no longer in the cards, the responsibility falls to council to pursue its commitment to fund affordable housing to create a more diverse, balanced community.
Opponents to the concept have trotted out every possible reason in defence of maintaining the land as green space, some bordering on discriminatory. Their goal appears to be muddying the waters of what is essentially a yes or no issue. Some have incorrectly cited articles of the Municipal Government Act to make their case. Others have claimed the proposal would drive down property values, despite no supporting evidence. The Gazette recently received a fax which points out the townhomes will not have basements. While such a proposal might seem odd, we know of no reason why a home can’t be built without one. Some have asked if the sale is “ethical” when no such moral void exists while others have gone so far as to claim low-income individuals have lots of children who cause more vandalism, an argument that speaks more to the quality of the person that utters such a statement. There are many individuals, low-income or high, who have large families. They are what form a community.
Through all the insinuations, accusations and poor arguments, the issue simply boils down to the fact residents don’t want to lose a park they never really had, save for a gracious donation to the city on the part of the school board when, in 1994, the Protestant district donated two acres of the five-acre site to the city that became Attwood Park. The $840,000 purchase price for the land is being fronted by the city through provincial affordable grant money it has received and is obligated to spend, not with city property tax dollars. The loss of green space that was never intended as such will be offset by the social good that will come from giving families a chance to experience home ownership, to build up their lives and contribute to the neighbourhood and community.
Council must not be scared off by the ever-present voices of dissent that have surrounded 70 Arlington Dr. for more than 30 years. Even though it might be an election year, councillors should not be deterred by the constant threat of losing a vote in Akinsdale come October. Their responsibility is to the community as a whole and St. Albert would be best served by pursuing and approving this development. It would be easy to let Arlington’s green space proponents steal the issue away once again, but nothing beneficial can come from it save another fight five more years down the road when another project comes forward. It would be right to contribute to the social fabric of our community by not standing in the way of a project that would benefit St. Albert as a whole.
