Last week + Council & COW meetings May 14, 2024
I had a great week away, but it’s wonderful to be back in Canada. One of the surprises after being elected was how different my perspective is travelling. Now, I can’t help but notice all the infrastructure and services in any city I set foot in, no matter how big or small. Last week, I noticed the impact of cultural investment on the vibrancy of a city, I noticed how public transit can be transformative, and I noticed that park spaces are a life-giving break from the city. I also saw how inaccessible - unaffordable - housing creates incredible barriers and disparity. I also got to speak with friends from Victoria, Germany, Venezuela & Tokyo, Mexico, New York, and Quebec… I never tire of learning from people who have such wonderfully different experiences and perspectives.
Council agenda - Bellerose expansion ($300,000-$350,000)
Mayor Heron called a Special Council meeting for Tuesday morning to hear a report about the development permit application for the expansion of Bellerose Comp and the road improvement that is required for this project. Essentially, the province has said that they will pay for the expansion of the high school, but not the roadwork (up to ~$350,000) required to accommodate the growth. I’m not sure how Council will respond to this, as our policy dictates that developers - not City ratepayers - pay for growth, but one option if for the city to pay for these improvements. This is frustrating because this expansion is desperately needed - and accommodates students from both St. Albert and outside communities - but St. Albert ratepayers might have to foot the bill.
COW agenda highlights
This week’s meeting package includes the review of over 400 pages of reports, many of which I first read in 2019/2020. Challenging discussions, to say the least.
Affordable Housing Supports
This discussion has been planned for a long time, to provide information on housing initiatives from higher levels of government and general best practices. The CAO of Homeland Housing will also be presenting earlier in the meeting about the St. Thomas St. project. There are a lot of federal projects relating to housing right now - and I hope that St. Albert can leverage these to get our project off the ground.
Youth Transitional Housing Feasibility Study
This is a project that got its start last term, as a result of a task force that identified gaps in St. Albert’s housing strategy. The report that is being presented Tuesday sets out more detailed recommendations for how we can take action in the area of youth housing & access to supports. The report is comprehensive, but there were no particular surprises for me - My big question will be ‘what next’? To say I’m tired of reports is an understatement - I’m ready for action, especially considering the recent closure of Outload services, but I rely on the expertise of both our staff and consultants to figure out next steps and I don’t see a clear path forward. My best guess is that a member of Council needs to move to invest in both the purchase of a home for use as a group transitional home, and for ongoing operational costs to support required services through a partner like YESS. But that’s a guess, and I’m bracing myself for NIMBY objections to the recommendations.
10—year RMR Plans
Every year, we go through the plans to Repair-Maintain-Replace existing City infrastructure, like roads, buildings, pipes, etc. With over $1B in capital assets, this plan is critical to ensure that city infrastructure stays reliable for generations.
Community Standards Bylaw Amendments
Back in October, Council directed Admin to update this bylaw “to allow residential landowners a wider scope of permissible vegetation and landscaping options on their properties (including front and side yards)… including alternatives such as food crops, pollinating gardens, rain gardens and xeriscaping”. Administration’s recommendations include:
Defining weeds, excluding clover as long as it’s under 15cm if it’s a lawn replacement and including dandelion flowers. This change was initiated after a resident had to raze their beautiful clover lawn that likely exceeded the 15cm limit, so I’m not thrilled with this restriction.
Allowing longer clover (I think?) if it’s in a flower bed/defined flower area.
Adding dandelion flowers to the definition of a weed. This is also disappointing as these plants are an excellent spring food source.
Exemptions for City property from the 15cm & “weed’ rules. This is a great way to allow us to continue with naturalized areas.
One of the pressures that we’re expecting to face over the next year is drought, and I’m concerned that St. Albert residents will be unprepared when water restrictions come into effect. The water restrictions due to drought likely won’t happen this year, but the situation in Southern Alberta is a reminder of what’s likely to come. Interestingly, there are some Alberta communities that are already incentivizing the replacement of turf lawns with drought-resistant alternatives. We know that turf lawns are terrible in terms of water demands, stormwater management, etc., but we haven’t done much in St. Albert to encourage their replacement - and I’m concerned that our priorities in terms of climate change and water conservation were not considered more heavily in these changes.
This is a brief and incomplete overview of our meetings, with my personal comments sprinkled in - In no way are my opinions representative of the official direction of council or the City of St. Albert. Please let me know of any typos or errors. Members of the public can register to speak if they have information to present to council. Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.
