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Resident launches pro-affordable housing campaign

A St. Albert resident has launched a campaign in support of an affordable housing project proposed for Akinsdale in an attempt to counter the negativity surrounding the project.

A St. Albert resident has launched a campaign in support of an affordable housing project proposed for Akinsdale in an attempt to counter the negativity surrounding the project.

Doug Shoults, 33, is gathering signatures in support of the proposed Habitat For Humanity project at 70 Arlington Dr. Shoults first spoke in support of the project at an open house on Jan. 12. Within the last week he's started gathering signatures on a "document of support" and also set up a Facebook group called Affordable Housing In St. Albert.

"There's such a big need," he said. "People are more important than grass."

The proposed 58-unit townhouse complex would be a partnership between Habitat For Humanity and Apollo Developments. The proposal requires city council approval and is meeting stiff resistance from area residents, partially because the surplus school site is viewed as valuable green space.

If the complex is built, Shoults hopes to get one of the units for his young family, but he thinks the project would be good for St. Albert even if he doesn't.

"St. Albert is one big community. We've got to act as a community and we've got to act for affordable housing," he said.

Shoults has personally knocked on the doors of 50 Akinsdale homes, an effort that put him face to face with 18 homeowners. All of them refused to sign his document but he's planning to return and keep trying.

"I want to show the people that I'm a person that needs affordable housing. I'm not scuzzy," he said.

Some local church groups have taken up his campaign and have gathered about 60 signatures, he said.

Opposition

Opposition to the Arlington project continues to grow in Akinsdale, said resident Gerry Kress, who is one of the organizers behind a petition against the development.

That petition has so far visited about 250 Akinsdale homes, with about 90 per cent of residents expressing opposition, he said.

An information brochure he's circulating raises concerns about loss of green space, the close proximity of the proposed buildings to existing homes, reduced property values, increased traffic and insufficient parking, among other things.

At the root of the problem, Kress said, is the school board's desire to sell the land for as much as it can.

"They find developers that want to stick as much stuff as they can in there," he said.

Another issue is that residents weren't consulted about the kind of development they'd like to see. While many residents want the land to remain a green space, they would likely support a less dense development, Kress said.

"If there is a reasonable development that's proposed there, I'm sure that they would get support but they have to talk to us first. They just can't force it on us," Kress said.

The plan will come to city council on Feb. 16 and public hearing will follow on March 15.

Hard step

Shoults is a former heavy-duty mechanic who's been on long-term disability for the past 18 months due to a neurological illness that has restricted the use of his arms.

His wife works full-time for the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association. They live with their two-year-old daughter at her parents' bungalow in Forest Lawn.

Shoults wonders if part of the opposition is due to a misconception that people who need affordable housing are somehow less desirable.

"Just because we don't make as much money and our circumstances are different doesn't mean that we're any less value to a community," he said.

Before his illness Shoults was making about $60,000 as a heavy-duty mechanic. With his wife also working, they were living in an Edmonton apartment while saving for a house and planning for a family of four children.

All that is on hold now, Shoults said. He'll never be able to "pull wrenches" again but hopes to return to work, get re-established and have another child. He tears up when asked what a home of his own would mean.

"The worst feeling in the world is not being able to do everything for your family," he said. "You've got to eat a big piece of humble pie to live with your parents-in-law."

"To say to my wife, 'look, we've got a house,' would mean the world to me."

Shoults participated in an episode of Alberta Primetime which aired on Access television at 7 p.m. Friday. Also scheduled to appear was St. Albert resident Dave Evans, an outspoken opponent of the proposal.

For his part, Shoults wasn't comfortable becoming the face of the pro-housing side but feels someone has to do it.

"It's hard to stand up and ask for help … but I figure that somebody should get the other side," he said. "I'm way out of my comfort zone, I'll tell you that."

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