A proposal to remove large parcels of land from the Sturgeon-St. Albert intermunicipal development plan (IDP) is not sitting well with several Sturgeon landowners and county councillors.
The proposed changes would exempt all 1,337 hectares of land St. Albert annexed from the county in 2007, as well as two acreage developments near the city.
The IDP is set up to allow the two municipalities to have input on development proposals on the fringes of both communities and sets out the staging of future annexations.
Earlier this month, a joint St. Albert-Sturgeon council committee recommended exempting the annexation area and lands for the proposed Quail Ridge and Northern Lights subdivisions.
That recommendation has to be approved by both councils as part of a joint public hearing process.
Ken Pacholok, who owns land in Sturgeon Valley near the border with St. Albert, said it’s unfair to exempt all of St. Albert’s land from the IDP and leave pockets of land in Sturgeon County.
“The IDP should be scrapped,” he told council. “If, however it does remain, it is important that all landowners should be treated equally.”
Pacholok doesn’t like having his land stay in the IDP boundary while so many other landowners’ holdings potentially could be removed. The agreement has clearly outlived its usefulness, he said.
“There seems to be an inequity in the deal that is proposed; we would expect no lesser treatment than what the City of St. Albert has proposed for its city-owned lands.”
Pacholok said the city clearly views the IDP as a hindrance and should recognize it affects everybody that way.
“They want out of the IDP to further development, so guess what? So do the rest of us.”
He said the IDP has only served to create friction between the communities and does neither any good.
Several other landowners voiced other objections, views several councillors appeared to echo.
While she was eager to see the two developments in the county removed from the IDP, leaving all the others is unacceptable, said Coun. Karen Shaw.
“I don’t think we can throw some of our landowners under the bus to save others. The playing field has to be level.”
Coun. Jerry Kaup said it appears to make sense to finally end the agreement and leave both municipalities to plan in their own backyards.
“If we are going to take all of one partner’s land out of the IDP why shouldn’t the other’s come out as well?”
St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse said he was focused on the proposal in front of council today and declined to speculate on how the city might treat a proposal to essentially kill the IDP.
Sturgeon Coun. Tom Flynn suggested delaying any action on the IDP for another two weeks to allow the county to consult more with landowners and talk to St. Albert about other changes.
Coun. Don McGeachy supported the motion, but said he also wants to make sure any more discussions don’t hold up either the Quail Ridge or Northern Lights developments.
The Quail Ridge development calls for 90 acreage lots on the north side of Sturgeon Road, just east of River Lot 56. The development has received all of its approvals from Sturgeon County and is currently waiting for approval from the Capital Region Board and St. Albert through the IDP process.
The Northern Lights development is an acreage subdivision that was initially planned so half of the lots would be set aside for small businesses and homes, while the other half would have just homes.
The existing developer is eager to re-designate those lands to remove home-based business entirely, arguing there’s little demand.
Coun. Ken McGillis does not want to see the development held up.
“Northern Lights is there, the services are in the ground, the roads are paved and the streetlights are there. The designation has to be changed to enhance marketing opportunities.”
