TAMRMS#: B06
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Range Road 260
Presented by: Dawny George, Director, Engineering Services
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RECOMMENDATION(S)
recommendation
1. That the April 6, 2020 agenda report entitled Range Road 260 be recieved as information.
2. That Administration continue discussions related to Council Motion AR-19-491, including off-site servicing solutions with Rohit and provide recommendations based on outcomes for Council’s consideration on May 25, 2020.
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PURPOSE OF REPORT
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
Strategic Priority #4 Infrastructure Investment: Identify, build and/or enhance needed critical or strategic infrastructure and identify and implement associated optimal business and operating models and lifecycle strategies.
ALIGNMENT TO LEVELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
N/A
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
On February 25, 2019, Council approved the following motion:
INC-19-020
That the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) be directed to provide to Council by June 24, 2019 a recommendation as to whether the City should purchase up to 35 acres of land or utilize a similar area within lands already owned by the City for construction of one or more campus style community amenities.
That the CAO be further be directed to ensure that the said recommendation is supported by a local development plan including: a concept plan, estimates of both initial servicing costs and total (life cycle) cost of ownership, details of required updates to Area Structure Plans and other planning documents, and overall development timelines.
That the CAO is authorized to include without prejudice conversations with landowners as part of the research and due diligence activities leading to the said recommendation.
On January 20, 2020, Council passed the following motion:
(AR-19-491 - Community Amenities)
That the Chief Administrative Officer be directed to proceed with a conditional offer and financing options to acquire the lands necessary for a community amenities site of at least 25 contiguous acres within the Range Road 260 Area Structure Plan, subject to Council approval.
That Administration present to Council, by the end of 2020, a proposal for the future disposition or use of the City-owned Badger lands (43 City Annex), together with a list of resolutions previously passed by Council concerning planning for or use of the Badger lands, for consideration of rescinding those resolutions.
On March 23, 2020, Council passed the following motion:
(AR-200102, Capital Projects 2020)
That Administration prioritize accelerating the process of pre design and design for servicing the Range Road 260 lands that Council has approved as the site of a community recreation facility, and that Administration present for Councils consideration on April 6 or as soon as possible thereafter any additional or ancillary approvals needed to advance that initiative, including a borrowing bylaw, if needed, and a project charter.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Rohit Communities (Rohit) is the owner of lands within the Range Road 260 Area Structure Plan (RR260 ASP). The Rohit lands include two former sand and gravel pits which were initially operated by a previous owner within the northern portions of the area in the 1970s. Landfill operations have since terminated.
Since 2018, Rohit has been conducting environmental investigations at the property to assess the environmental risks associated with the non-operating landfills and to determine how to responsibly proceed with land development. As this work continues, and as the environmental risks continue to be better understood, development of the ASP has progressed and the potential for an evidence-based application to the Province of Alberta for a reduction on the setback distance from the former landfill sites is closer to fruition.
As Rohit continues their environmental investigations and monitoring, conceptual designs and initial development of the southern portion of the parcel (opposite the non-operating landfills) and lands outside of the current buffer area can carry on. It is anticipated that when the final landfill cover and associated monitoring systems are constructed the environmental risks associated with the former landfills will be further reduced.
Once the City is satisfied that the environmental parameters are fully understood and do not pose unacceptable risk to potential future homeowners or business operators, the City will apply to the Provincial regulator for approval of a reduced setback from the footprints of the closed landfills.
Administration solicited proposals for a community amenities site from numerous landowners and completed an extensive exercise evaluating the proposed sites based on numerous factors, and ultimately recommended that Council proceed with negotiations for acquiring land in the RR260 ASP area; Council supported this recommendation by passing AR-19-491.
Rohit offered two options for the City to acquire a combined 59 acres within the RR 260 ASP area, which includes 30 acres of land in one parcel plus a second adjacent parcel of 29 acres consisting of the remediated Landfill Pit 1 and a 50 m setback. See Attachment 1, originally submitted as part of Rohit’s supplemental information package, for reference.
Option 1: Purchase the lands as a fully serviced site, complete with stripping and rough grading, for consideration consisting of a cash component plus issuance of a donation receipt for income tax purposes. (The City is legally entitled as a municipality to issue such donation receipts provided all relevant requirements of income tax legislation are complied with.)
Option 2: Rohit will donate the graded, but un-serviced, land to the City for nominal consideration plus issuance of a donation receipt for income tax purposes.
The site is not currently serviced and needs both off-site and on-site projects related to utility infrastructure to be completed to service the site. The off-site leviable projects are largely contemplated to be constructed in existing road right-of-way.
A conditional offer for the lands in question has not been made by Administration at this time, but Rohit has been working on a RR260 ASP amendment that would incorporate the 59 acres community amenities site. Rohit and the City had a pre-application meeting on February 19, 2020 to discuss the contemplated revisions to the ASP.
Recently, with the announcement of significant projects in South Riel (Administration has approved development permits for ~800,000 square feet of industrial warehouse space in 2020), serviced land within St. Albert has become limited to provide future development opportunities and resultant new taxation revenue.
Given current realities surrounding the public health emergency in Alberta related to COVID-19, other levels of government recognize that funding of “shovel ready” projects would be a stimulus for economic recovery. While formal stimulus packages for “shovel ready” projects have not been announced yet, Administration is currently exploring ways of fast-tracking engineering design work of this infrastructure to position it as a good candidate for stimulus funding, given how this infrastructure could also facilitate additional economic activity related to the Lakeview Business Park and the possible construction of a future campus amenities site. Independent of federal and provincial strategies, infrastructure investment is a Strategic Priority of Council, RR260 was identified as a key strategic infrastructure investment prior to COVID-19 and off-site servicing of RR260 would be a key stimulus for economic recovery and long-term economic growth in St. Albert.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
On March 30, 2020, Administration met via videoconference with representatives from Rohit to discuss the potential for acceleration of servicing for the RR260 project. Rohit indicated that preliminary design was nearly complete and was supportive of accelerating timelines to complete detailed design of both on-site and off-site servicing. While Administration is supportive of on-site servicing for development of this site, and will work with the developer to enable this, the City’s strategic focus is on off-site servicing to enable development of the broader servicing area, providing economic growth and taxation revenue for the City. The extents of off-site projects, versus on-site projects, within those required utility projects shown in Attachment #1 are subject to discussion as part of the design review. Administration is optimistic that detailed design could be completed soon enough to allow construction to commence this year.
Rohit provided a confidential Draft Design Brief Amendment to Administration on March 31, 2020, which demonstrated to the satisfaction of Administration that conceptual and preliminary design work is well underway and nearing completion.
IMPLICATIONS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
A completed design based on infrastructure being installed in the existing road right-of-way would arguably provide a ‘shovel-ready’ project in the very near future, thereby increasing the chance of the project being eligible for any announced stimulus funding. Details on alternative funding arrangements, should stimulus money from senior levels of government not be readily available, or should the project not meet criteria that ultimately are established for stimulus funding, are still to be negotiated.
The City does not need to undertake any additional actions to facilitate a ‘shovel-ready’ project in this instance other than to work responsively and collaboratively with Rohit and their consultants during the design process.
As the design progresses towards completion, administration anticipates having a detailed project charter for the construction phase of the serving, including alternate funding options (which may include borrowing) for Council’s consideration and approval towards the beginning of Q3 2020, contingent of approval of recommendations acceptable to Council on May 25, 2020.
Financial:
None at this time.
Legal / Risk:
None at this time
Program or Service:
None at this time.
Organizational:
None at this time.
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED
If Council does not wish to support the recommendation, the following alternatives could be considered:
Alternative 1. That Council provide direction to Administration.
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Report Date: April 6, 2020
Author(s): Dawny George
Department: Engineering Services
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer: Kerry Hilts
Chief Administrative Officer: Kevin Scoble