The mayor objects. But Landrex can develop the King of Kings Lutheran church lands as it originally proposed.
For two council meetings, Mayor Nolan Crouse argued the developer should be required to build more commercial property on the site. But Landrex – looking to develop only a thin strip of commercial along the trail, with the rest of the site being devoted to residential property – said it would not buy nor develop the site if forced to build fewer homes.
On Tuesday, council voted down a motion by Crouse that another 3.66 hectares of the site be zoned commercial land. Some councillors said they’d rather see development move ahead as proposed, than having none at all.
“I think this development Landrex put forward is much more marketable, will get developed quicker and will be more beneficial to the city of St. Albert by providing more tax revenue,” said Coun. Cam MacKay. “If we go to the situation where we change it though, we will sit on it for a long time.”
The church site is located on the corner of St. Albert Trail and Coal Mine Road. Landrex first told city council about its plans for the site at a meeting in January.
At the time, Crouse questioned why the city should support a development that is not fully maximizing commercial growth along St. Albert Trail. More commercial development will help bring residential taxes down, which is a long-term goal of the city, he said.
“We never get this commercial back,” he said on Tuesday. “I am trying to make the argument that what we should be doing is preserve the commercial corridor.”
Councillors disagreed with Crouse’s motion for various reasons.
Coun. Cam MacKay said the development would bring economic benefit to the city.
At a previous meeting, he had asked administration to prepare a fiscal analysis that shows the development’s impact on city coffers. On Tuesday, results of that analysis showed Landrex’s proposal would generate approximately $4.5 million in tax revenues, nearly $350,000 more tax revenue than Crouse’s proposal, based on 2009 tax rates.
Considering the Alberta economy, and that many stores are now closing or being bought out – he referred to Target, Safeway and Future Shop – MacKay said the city should support development when it’s presented, not risk losing it. He added that Landrex’s proposal to build a multi-family site near the commercial corridor supports business struggling to find workers.
“All commercial development is looking for access, places nearby, where their employees can live,” he said. “Additionally, if you are going to serve these neighbours with LRT or buses, it’s efficient to have them closer to the corridor.”
Other councillors said they liked the idea of retaining commercial development. But they favoured residential development around the church site.
“I have difficulty placing an institution in the middle of a commercial development simply because they (the church) are intended to serve people,” said Coun. Wes Brodhead.
Coun. Gilles Prefontaine, who previously asked that Crouse’s motion be amended to substitute “commercial” with “mixed use” development, removed his motion on Tuesday. Mixed use refers to a blend of commercial, residential and institutional uses.
“At this point in time, I recognize that we are able to achieve much higher density in terms of residential and achieve the commercial, or to a large extent, much of the commercial benefit of this project, in maintaining it as it is,” he said.
Council defeated Crouse’s motion 6-1 but voted unanimously in favour of changing the area structure plan of the site from institutional use to include more commercial and residential uses.
