TAMRMS#: B06
8.1
REQUEST FOR DECISION
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Bylaw 6/2026 - Sturgeon Heights Municipal Reserve and Public Utility Lot Designation (1st, 2nd, 3rd Readings)
Presented by: Barb Dupuis, Planner, Planning & Development Department
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RECOMMENDED MOTION(S)
recommendation
1. That Bylaw 6/2026, being a bylaw to designate Municipal Reserve and a Public Utility Lot, be read a first time.
2. That Bylaw 6/2026 be read a second time.
3. That unanimous consent be given for consideration of third reading of Bylaw 6/2026.
4. That Bylaw 6/2026 be read a third time.
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SUMMARY
This report discusses the proposed designation of municipally owned lands within the Sturgeon Heights neighbourhood. These land amendments are being undertaken as part of the Sturgeon Heights Reservoir and Pump Station Replacement and Decommissioning Project.
The purpose of this report is to provide information and rationale on the proposed changes, and recommended motions for Council’s consideration. Bylaw 6/2026 can be found as attachment 1.
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
Previous Council Motion
On July 5, 2021, Council passed the following motions:
PH-21-015
1. That the Public Hearing on the Reserve Designation Removal at 53 and 81 Salisbury Avenue be closed.
2. That the Chief Administrative Officer or designate be directed to notify the Registrar of Land Titles that Council has complied with the requirements of Division 9 of Part 17 of the Municipal Government Act with respect to portions of Reserve lands legally described as Plan 5215MC, Block 9, Lots R1 and R2, shown on the map entitled Reserve Designation Removal (Attachment 3) and to request that the Registrar remove the reserve (R) designation from the said lands.
Municipal Reserve and Public Utility Lot are designations granted under the Municipal Government Act (MGA), for municipal lands that are typically used for parks, or municipal infrastructure, respectively.
Public Utility Lot (PUL) Designation
The MGA section (1)(1)(y) states:
“public utility” means a system or works used to provide one or more of the following for public consumption, benefit, convenience or use:
(i) water or steam;
(ii) sewage disposal;
(iii) public transportation operated by or on behalf of the municipality;
(iv) irrigation;
(v) drainage;
(vi) fuel;
(vii) electric power;
(viii) heat;
(ix) waste management;
(x) residential and commercial street lighting,
and includes the thing that is provided for public consumption, benefit, convenience or use;
The MGA section 616(w) states:
“public utility lot” means land required to be given under Division 8 for public utilities;
By placing a Public Utility Lot designation on 53 Salisbury Avenue, it allows for the use of the water reservoir and pumphouse to provide essential water infrastructure to residents of St. Albert. A Public Utility Lot designation advises the public, and companies that do work in the area, that essential infrastructure is present, and needs to be accounted for when other construction projects are working in the area.
Municipal Reserve (MR) Designation
The MGA section 671(2) states:
Municipal reserve, school reserve or municipal and school reserve may be used by a municipality or school board or by them jointly only for any or all of the following purposes:
(a) a public park;
(b) a public recreation area;
(c) school board purposes;
(d) to separate areas of land that are used for different purposes.
By placing a Municipal Reserve designation on 37 Sunset Boulevard and 81 Salisbury Avenue, it limits the uses on those parcels, as per MGA section 671(2). These parcels are both part of Salisbury Park, and the intent is to use them for park and recreation purposes, which complies with the MGA.
Bylaw Required
The MGA section 665(1) states:
A council may by bylaw require that a parcel of land or a part of a parcel of land that it owns or that it is in the process of acquiring be designated as municipal reserve, school reserve, municipal and school reserve, environmental reserve, conservation reserve or public utility lot.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Neighbourhood Context
The Sturgeon Heights neighbourhood is located east of St. Albert Trail, south of Sir Winston Churchill Avenue, west of Cunningham Road, and north of Hebert Road. This is an established neighbourhood, which started the bulk of its development in the 1950s, including the former water reservoir located at 37 Sunset Boulevard.
Site Information
The subject site is three parcels of land that are located adjacent to Salisbury Avenue, Sunset Boulevard, and Holy Family Catholic School. For the purposes of this report, the lands are referred to as the ‘subject site’. The proposed bylaw is shown as attachment 1, and a location map is shown as attachment 2.
File History
The Sturgeon Heights Reservoir and Pump Station Replacement and Decommissioning Project started in 2021. The purpose was to construct a new water reservoir, and decommission the old reservoir, as the infrastructure had reached the end of its lifespan. Two of the impacted parcels, 53 and 81 Salisbury Avenue, had Municipal Reserve designations.
On July 5, 2021, Administration proposed a resolution to Council, to remove the Municipal Reserve designation from 53 and 81 Salisbury Avenue. The agenda report from this process can be found as attachment 3. This resolution was passed by Council, and the Municipal Reserve designation was removed from the parcels on July 23, 2021.
The amount of Municipal Reserve that was removed was approximately 3.81 hectares± (9.4 acres±). The Municipal Reserve designation was removed so a new water reservoir could be built. The Municipal Reserve designation was removed from both parcels to give the most flexibility for preliminary design options for the new reservoir. The original public circulation for the Municipal Reserve removal portion of this file was framed as a park exchange, where part of the park land would change location, after the old reservoir was decommissioned.
Now that the reservoir and pumphouse have been constructed, Administration can confirm the exact size and scope, which is contained within 53 Salisbury Avenue. There is some underground piping on adjacent parcels, which will be contained within a utility right-of-way.
Proposal - Bylaw 6/2026
Bylaw 6/2026 is a city-led proposal to designate two parcels, 37 Sunset Boulevard and 81 Salisbury Avenue, as Municipal Reserve (MR), and one parcel, 53 Salisbury Avenue, as a Public Utility Lot (PUL). The legal land descriptions, municipal addresses, and proposed designations of the subject lands are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Legal Descriptions and Municipal Addresses
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Legal Description |
Municipal Address |
Parcel Size |
Proposed Designation |
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Plan 5310KS; Block 9; Lot 74 |
37 Sunset Boulevard |
1.43 hectares± (3.53 acres±) |
Municipal Reserve (MR) |
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Plan 5215MC; Block 9; Lot 2 |
81 Salisbury Avenue |
1.38 hectares± (3.40 acres±) |
Municipal Reserve (MR) |
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Plan 5215MC, Block 9, Lot 1 |
53 Salisbury Avenue |
2.43 hectares± (6.00 acres±) |
Public Utility Lot (PUL) |
Planning Framework
To put the amendment process into perspective, Bylaw 6/2026 is a requirement of the Municipal Government Act.
The proposal was reviewed against the policy tiers below, being the MDP, and the LUB.
Municipal Government Act (MGA)
The municipal government act gives councils the discretion to apply designations to parcels that protect land for municipal or public purposes. The Municipal Government Act applies to more than just St. Albert, it is a provincial guiding law that provides statutes and regulations to municipalities in Alberta. For further detail, please see the ‘Alignment to Council Direction or Mandatory Statutory Provision’ section of this report.
Flourish Municipal Development Plan (MDP) Bylaw 20/2020
This proposal complies with Flourish Municipal Development Plan, which shows these lands as Neighborhoods. Neighbourhoods consist predominantly of low-rise forms of housing, along with parks, schools, and other community facilities.
Area Structure Plan (ASP) / Neighbourhood Plan (NP)
There is no Area Structure Plan or Neighborhood Plan for this area.
Land Use Bylaw (LUB) 18/2024
All three parcels are districted the Public Park (PRK) Land Use District as per Land Use Bylaw 18/2024. The only permitted use in the district is a park. There are several discretionary uses in the district, which include public utility building.
Land use districting enables uses on parcels of land; however, it is a municipal tool, which is individually regulated in each municipality.
The development in place is considered in alignment with the Land Use Bylaw.
Salisbury Park
Despite a portion of Salisbury Park having a Public Utility Lot designation, much of the infrastructure is underground, and there is an ability to use a portion of the surface of 53 Salisbury Avenue for recreation purposes. Site photos, taken in 2025, are shown on attachment 4.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
MGA section 665(1) states that a bylaw is required to designate Municipal Reserve or a Public Utility Lot, however a public hearing is not required. As there is no public hearing, no public circulation was completed for this file.
Feedback was sought from interested internal parties. The proposed land designations were circulated to internal interested parties on June 16, 2025. The circulation lasted for 30 days.
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City Department |
Summary of Feedback |
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Engineering |
Engineering is supportive of the proposal. This is a housekeeping item to apply appropriate designations to City-owned lands and restores Municipal Reserve designations to preserve parkland in alignment with commitments made to the public at the start of the reservoir project. |
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Environment |
Environment has no comments at this time. |
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Recreation & Parks |
Recreation and Parks supportive of the proposal. |
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Taxation |
The new designations will have no impact on tax revenue as the parcels remain property tax exempt. |
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Utilities |
Utilities has no concerns. |
IMPACTS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
Financial:
None at this time.
Compliance & Legal:
Section 665(1) of the MGA permits councils, by bylaw, to designate municipally-owned land as municipal reserve, school reserve, municipal and school reserve, environmental reserve, conservation reserve, or public utility lot.
First reading for Bylaw 6/2026 is not a debatable motion, and is required in order to table a bylaw for Council’s consideration. Providing first reading of a bylaw does not indicate agreement with the bylaw, but rather is the process by which the applicant’s bylaws may be put forward in accordance with procedural fairness principles.
First, second, and third readings of Bylaw 6/2026 are scheduled for the same day. The Municipal Government Act provides that a proposed bylaw must not have more than two readings at a council meeting unless the council members present unanimously agree to consider third reading at the same meeting.
If unanimous consent for third reading of Bylaw 6/2026 is not granted on April 7, 2026, after first and second reading, third reading of Bylaw 6/2026 will occur at the next regular Council meeting on April 21, 2026.
Program or Service:
None at this time.
Organizational:
None at this time.
Risks
None at this time.
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
Initiative aligned with Strategic Plan:
None at this time.
ALIGNMENT TO LEVELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
This aligns with Service Level Inventory Item D.4.1 Current Planning Application Processing, which includes processing and coordination of the approval of statutory plans and amendments, subdivision and condominium applications.
IMPACTS OF ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
If Council does not wish to support the recommendation, the following alternatives could be considered:
ALTERNATIVE 1:
Defeat second or third reading of Bylaw 6/2026. This would mean that Municipal Reserve and a Public Utility Lot are not designated. This would not change the existing development on the parcels.
ALTERNATIVE 1:
Financial:
None at this time.
Compliance & Legal:
None at this time.
Program or Service:
None at this time.
Organizational:
None at this time.
Risks
There is a risk of negative public perception, being that Administration did not follow through with commitments stated during the earlier portion of this file, if the lands are not returned to Municipal Reserve. There is a risk of companies working in the area not being informed, if the parcel with the reservoir is not designated a Public Utility Lot.
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Report Date: April 7, 2026
Author(s): Barb Dupuis
Department: Planning & Development Department
Department Director: Kristina Peter
Managing Director: Adryan Slaght
Chief Administrative Officer: William Fletcher