Proposed changes to offsite levies have left local developers fearing St. Albert will be viewed as too expensive of a place in which to do business.
A small but vocal crowd gathered at the St. Albert Inn Thursday morning to provide feedback to city officials about the proposed offsite levies.
In November, council voted to amend the offsite levies bylaw, which would see new development pay for 50 per cent of the two lanes in all three phases of Ray Gibbon Drive instead of just phase one.
Developers would also be on the hook for 95 per cent of water reservoirs and pumphouses, in addition to other growth infrastructure already contained in the levy bylaw.
Originally, administration recommended the city pay for all of the $60 million-plus in costs for the water reservoir/pumphouses needed in the annexed lands, but after much debate council dismissed the idea.
The proposed changes mean taxpayers would be on the hook for the remaining five per cent of the costs, which would total approximately $3 million or about $5,000 per household and be collected through utility rates.
Michael Mooney, executive director of the Urban Development Institute, has been working with administration throughout the entire process and supported the levy rates that were originally proposed to council. Now Mooney is disappointed with the proposed changes, stating it’s not fair to the homeowner. He’s also concerned it will hurt development in St. Albert since no other municipality in the region has similar rates.
“This additional cost being put back onto the developer, then ultimately onto the new home buyer, is another penalty to the new home buyer,” said Mooney. “You are pricing yourself out of the market.”
Long-time resident Bob Russell spoke on behalf of the seniors’ community and said many senior citizens can’t afford to see an increase on their bills to support growth in the city.
Instead, Russell said, the city needs to follow in the footsteps of other municipalities like Cardston and Okotoks, which put the onus on developers to prove their plans will not be a burden to existing taxpayers.
“There are senior citizens in this town who are struggling,” said Russell. “They want to still stay here but the tax burden has increased far beyond inflation.”
Offsite levies are designed to compensate the city for the costs of building infrastructure such as water pipes, sewer trunks and arterial roads to new housing development.
Most municipalities in the region have some existing infrastructure, but St. Albert is basically starting from scratch in the annexed lands.
As a result, city administration began to explore the possibility of using offsite levies to pay for the infrastructure needed in order to proceed with development in the annexed lands and share the cost burden of major new infrastructure.
Feedback from Thursday’s information session will be reported back to council during the continuation of the public hearing Jan. 25.
