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04/08/2010 07:27


SATA Letter Attempts To Stop DARP Approval



July 15, 2010

Capital Region Board
1405 Bell Tower
10104 – 103 Ave.,
Edmonton, AB
T5J 0H8

Attention: Mr. C. Sheard
Interim Chair, Capital Region Board

Dear Sir:

Re: City of St. Albert
DARP Submission

I am writing to you on behalf of the St. Albert Taxpayers Association (SATA), to voice our concerns about City of St. Albert Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan (DARP), recently submitted for review by the Capital Region Board as part of the Regional Evaluation Framework (REF).

Following is a list of our concerns:

1. The Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan presented to St. Albert taxpayers did not contain any cost estimates. Based on the scope of the Plan, one can only infer that total price tag for the project could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars

2. The Plan did not include a marketing analysis of St. Albert’s potential market for high density residential development. We believe the proposed net residential density, projected at 238 net residential units per hectare, is grossly overstated

3. The Plan did not include a retail market analysis to confirm that the Plan would support the projected growth in commercial development

4. Stakeholder consultations were primarily confined to targeted groups which, promoting self-interest, support the Plan. There is no evidence to indicate that the broader cross-section of St. Albert’s residential and non-residential taxpayers support the Plan

5. The Public Hearing process, chaired by Mayor Nolan Crouse started on July 5th, will continue on August 16th. In our opinion, since the Mayor and other Council members support the Plan, the Hearing lacks objectivity. The Mayor has stated that he expects the Bylaw authorizing the Plan to be passed on August 16th.

6. To date, calls to hold a referendum on the issue during the October 18th Municipal Election have gone unanswered.

In summary, our Association believes that the St. Albert City Council has not done the necessary due diligence on the details of the Plan, and it has failed to engage St. Albert taxpayers in meaningful discussions to determine the level of support for the Plan. If passed, the Bylaw will be the first step in what could ultimately be a very large and expensive publicly funded City project.

Under the circumstances, we ask the Capital Region Board to reject City of St. Albert application to implement the Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan (DARP).

The St. Albert Taxpayers Association is a registered non-profit organization formed in 2008. The organization is dedicated to influencing the policies and spending decisions of St. Albert’s City Council and Administration to ensure reduced waste, sustainable spending and more accountable municipal government. You can find more information about the Association on its website at www.stalberttaxpayers.org/

Yours truly,

Lynda Flannery
President

Cc: Mayor Nolan Crouse
St. Albert City Council
MLA Ken Allred
SATA Executive
St. Albert Gazette
Saint City News
St. Albert’s Place
Edmonton Journal



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