The long awaited public hearing for Boudreau Communities' Riverbank Landing development has been set for June 9.
On April 19, St. Albert city council unanimously passed first readings of an application to amend the Oakmont area structure plan (ASP) and the city's land use bylaw. Those amendments are needed for Boudreau's mixed-use development on the former Hole's Greenhouse site to move forward.
Residents were allowed to speak on first reading, but only about the date of the public hearing itself, Mayor Cathy Heron explained. Comments on the three amendments and the proposal itself are reserved for the hearing to ensure council approaches it with an open mind.
"It is our council's duty to vote in favour of first reading regardless of our opinion on said proposal. This process only gets it on the floor and sets the date for the public hearing," Heron said.
The development would see five buildings on the former Hole's Greenhouses site, two of which are 40 and 50 metres high, with 360 residential units and about 67,700 square-feet of commercial space (for reference, the Botanica building next to the site is 37 metres tall).
Originally, the public hearing was proposed for May 18. Jerry Husar, who is a member of a group of citizens opposed to the project, said they have expressed concerns about the "proposed Riverbank Landing development, the application for amendments to the land use bylaw and Oakmont ASP, and the public consultation process."
On March 3, a group of residents opposed to the application filed a freedom of information act (FOIP) request with the city around Boudreau's development, Husar said. Documents requested stretched back to Boudreau's original application that was voted down by council last June.
Husar said he received the first batch of information, about 200 pages worth of material, from the city the morning of the council meeting. He asked for the city to give them more time to review the information.
"I haven't had a chance to open the document yet so we certainly cannot estimate at this time the extent of effort to review this information, and we cannot ascertain at this time whether we will need to seek an expert opinion or legal advice."
With this in mind, city council voted unanimously to change the date of the public hearing from May 18 to June 9 at 9 a.m. If you wish to speak at the public hearing, send an email to [email protected].
Legal challenge?
Another resident, Doug Hartman, questioned the legitimacy of Boudreau's application entirely. The original application was voted down by council on June 22, and Boudreau submitted a revised application in November.
Under the city's land use bylaw, at least six months must pass between the date of council's original vote and the date of when a second application was submitted, if the amendments are requested for the same site, and for a similar or the same land use as before.
Heron noted that Hartman wasn't talking about the public hearing date, but agreed that the six-month timeline must be adhered to. If not, "we would have to delay the public hearing and the whole process," she said, turning to Leflar for confirmation.
"What is being said now is a challenge even to the legitimacy of the entire thing being before council. That should go to court," Leflar said. "This sort of thing, if they have a case, that should be taken up before Court of Queen's Bench, not even at a public hearing."
