St. Albert city council's last meeting before a five week summer break is taking place in the form of a Standing Committee of the Whole meeting on July 11, in which council will hear presentations from administration on proposed changes to the city's Land Use Bylaw and a refined concept plan for the future Community Amenities Site.
The Land Use Bylaw (LUB) amendments, which administration has been working on since April of 2022, are numerous, and are still being drafted. The LUB is a technical document that regulates how each area of the city is developed.
Administration was directed to update the LUB shortly after the current council finalized their term-long strategic plan in early 2022. At the time, updating the LUB was deemed necessary in order for the bylaw to better align with the city's Municipal Development Plan (MDP) called Flourish.
The current LUB was approved in 2005, and has been amended numerous times in the years since.
Although the omnibus LUB update is still being drafted, administration will give council a presentation on July 11 with a long list of some changes that will be brought forward when the draft is complete.
Such changes include the proposed establishment of five new land-use districts, which dictate what can be built within an areas determined boundary.
The new districts, a report to council included in the July 11 meeting agenda states, include a Conservation Park District, a Business Park 1 district, an Industrial district, and a Mixed-Use Level 1 district.
Along with creating new districts, another proposed change to the LUB is to consolidate multiple existing district types. One example of a district consolidation included in the report is the amalgamation of the existing Boardwalk, Downtown Residential, Mixed Commercial, and Downtown districts, which will be referred to as the Downtown District if the LUB update is approved.
Administration's report to council includes many more examples of proposed amendments to the LUB, which the Gazette will cover in greater depth in the Thursday, July 13 edition of the newspaper.
Administration is recommending that council receive tomorrow's presentation as information, and not propose any amendments until after a public hearing on all the changes is held once a draft of the omnibus update is completed.
First look at proposed Community Amenities Site
Following months of public engagement and the release of a What We Heard report, city administration will also give council a presentation on a refined concept plan for the future Community Amenities Site being eyed in the city's northwest near Ray Gibbon Drive.
Administration's refined concept, which a report to council repeatedly states is not the final design of the recreation centre, is estimated to cost between $81.3 million and $110 million in 2023 dollars.
That estimate, the report states, “does not consider future economic impacts that may affect pricing.”
“Costing is based on industry standards and recent available data; however, it should be noted that costs for recreation facilities have increased significantly even within the year since this project began,” the report reads.
“Cost volatility makes accurate costing difficult, and appropriate contingencies will be applied to address these risks during future budget processes.”
The refined concept plan includes many amenities thought to be guaranteed in a future recreation centre in St. Albert to meet resident demand, such as a large aquatics facility with both a recreation and competitive lane pool; space for a separate high school; and a gym and fitness facility.
Other amenities included in the refined concept plan include a single indoor ice sheet, outdoor pickleball and tennis courts, a spray park feature that converts into a community skating rink in the winter months, and a bike skills park that will be developed on top of a long-decommissioned dump site.
“The future Community Amenities Site is one of the most significant investments the City of St. Albert will make,” administration's report to council states.
The Standing Committee of the Whole is being asked to approve the conceptual plan so that administration can move on to the next phase of work on the project, which includes technical studies and assessments of possible operating and partnership models.
This phase of work, administration's report states, was already budgeted for and approved in 2022, and requires no additional spending from council.
The Gazette will have an article dedicated to the refined concept plan and the committee discussion in the Thursday, July 13, edition of the newspaper.
