Another acreage development project is looking to call the Sturgeon Valley home, but first it will have to face local residents at a public hearing scheduled for next week.
The 55-lot Green Hennessy development was given first reading at a council meeting on March 31 and will go to a public hearing Tuesday at the Sturgeon Valley Golf Course.
The proposed development would put the 55 lots on Sturgeon Road, just opposite Allin Ridge Estates. It would incorporate the existing Peas on Earth Greenhouse, along with a proposed health and wellness centre and a childcare centre.
According to the development’s outline plan, the health and wellness facility will have a spa component and would cover about 20,000 sq. ft., while the childcare centre will have room for about 60 children.
The bylaw the county will be considering would change the current agricultural land use to a residential and institutional land use to accommodate the new developments.
Sturgeon County Mayor Don Rigney said he is pleased to see how the valley area is shaping up and that developers remain interested in building there.
“I think the Sturgeon Valley is developing into one of the finest residential communities in Northern Alberta.”
Putting aside the specific issue of the Hennessy development, he said he is pleased when developers come to the county to invest.
“We are encouraged that people choose to invest in the community while we also understand there are interests that need to be addressed.”
At last week’s council meeting, Coun. Tom Flynn put forward a proposal that would have put off any proposed subdivisions in the Sturgeon Valley until the county updates an overall plan for the area.
That motion would have put the Hennessy development on hold, but the motion was defeated in a 4-3 vote.
This development is one of many proposed for the area, which also includes Quail Ridge, a 90-lot subdivision along Sturgeon Road near Riverlot 56 and Sturgeon Heights, a proposed 240-lot subdivision near the existing Sturgeon Heights acreages.
Both of those developments have cleared the majority of their regulatory approvals including the go-ahead from the Capital Region Board, but neither has begun major construction.
Rigney said the county is obligated to give landowners a hearing when they come forward with a proposal for changes to their land.
“It is our job to provide a fair and open hearing process and hear what the proponents want to do with their land.”
He said as part of that process, council also has to hear from the public about what they want in their community.
“We are looking forward to hearing what the public has to say.”
The hearing is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
