Did anyone ever wonder how it came to be that 70 Arlington Dr. turned into such a hot potato, pitting Habitat for Humanity, Apollo Developments, the City of St. Albert and residents of Akinsdale against each other?
According to the background report received by city council on March 15, 2010, 70 Arlington Dr. was acquired by the “Separate school board directly from the developer” (Qualico) for the purpose of building a school.
• In March of 1986, the "Protestant separate school board" opted out of the build.
• In 1987, the "Protestant separate school board" approached the city to dispose of the site.
Fast forward to 2010 and residents of Akinsdale are being called snobs, elitists, NIMBYs and are thrown under the bus so to speak, all because the school board, who bought the land from Qualico for $1, attempted to sell it to the city and the city said no.
Mayor Nolan Crouse's efforts to address a 24-year-old “wrong” by taking over the land might be viewed as a step in the right direction. However, it still does not answer the question of why Akinsdale residents are expected to fight all comers for every bare patch of land in their subdivision?
Fred Trotter, St. Albert
