Fort McMurray is one step closer to a new downtown sports and entertainment complex at Franklin and Morrison.
Municipal council gave the green light yesterday to expropriating land that it needs for the project if the city can’t come to an agreement with some businesses and homeowners.
Chief Administrative Officer Glen Laubenstein says it’s the kind of project the city needs.
“Now that we’ve had the growth that we’ve experienced in the last 10 years, what served us well initially as a town of 10 thousand and then a community of 30 thousand, were actually entering a new stage in our community which is redevelopment.”
Laubenstein told council that taking the land isn’t a rare thing to do.
“This goes on throughout Canada and the United States, and municipalities that are redeveloping their downtown’s and their cores, will routinely put an omnibus by-law forward that outlines all the properties they need for streets, roads, and redevelopment.”
Some downtown business owners and homeowners did speak against the proposal at council.
But the city won’t have to use expropriation if it can come to an agreement with the owners.
He says they’re not trying to uproot longtime residents and leave them without homes.
“The other thing as we as your staff understand is that we’re putting a lot of trauma on the people that are being displaced for the greater good, so, we need to not just understand, but make sure that they are treated fairly.”
The city may also use the expropriation process for road extensions at McLeod Street and Fitzsimmons Avenue to improve downtown traffic.
November 28th, 2012
