By Alessia Proietti

Now a Post-Secondary Institution District

Council approves rezoning of Red Deer Polytechnic; more commercial uses allowed

Jan 19, 2022 | 2:12 PM

Red Deer city council approved unanimously this week, a Land Use Bylaw for the Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) area, rezoning it into a Post-Secondary Institution (PSI) District.

Council passed second and third reading following a public hearing on Monday.

The Bylaw states that the purpose of the new district is to provide for the development of commercial uses and services for the campus community that, “demonstrate significant training and applied learning connections to one or more academic programs”.

Their current zone as a Public Service (PS) district is also applied to other sites throughout the city such as schools and public facilities, including the Westerner grounds, the hospital and recreational sites like the Collicutt and Dawe Centres. Commercial support uses in this district are limited.

Some of the permitted uses under the PS zone for RDP lands are mainly for National Defence. Discretionary uses include recreation and sport activities, assisted living, services like sports therapy and family counselling, day care facilities, private clubs, and some retail outlets in relation to this list.

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Under the new PSI rezoning, permitted uses in existing buildings on RDP lands include commercial entertainment and service facilities, health and medical services, merchandise sales (excluding Cannabis), and restaurants, among a few others. If a new site is to be built on the land, then it will be categorized as a discretionary use.

A comparison table of the uses between PS and PSI districts can be found on page 1216 in the Jan. 17 council meeting agenda.

During the public hearing, the sole attendee was Jason Mudry, Director of Campus Management at RDP, in support of the amendment.

“Red Deer Polytechnic’s intentions are not to become a power centre or a mall,” he said, explaining the emphasis is placed on commercial facilities that will support the campus community.

Councillor Vesna Higham reminisced on her campus days at Brigham Young University in the United States where she frequently visited the discounted movie theatre and bowling alley on campus. While convenient for students, her concerns were regarding competition currently in Red Deer.

She stated, “The competing interest of protecting of our tax payers and protecting the competitiveness within those certain commercial enterprises to ensure that there is fairness across our community. What would it do to existing bowling alleys if a third one on campus were to come on stream tax free?”

With the size of RDP lands being similar to that of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Councillor Bruce Buruma supported the amendment, expressing the opportunity it brings for the economy and the institution’s reputation.

“I do believe that it will help be a catalyst in helping define what a polytechnic is; I think many in our community still wonder what that is,” he said.

Bylaw discussions began in 2018 during talks on transitioning the college into a university, which became a polytechnic in May 2021.

The initial bylaw amendment discussed by council in July 2021, requested administration to review if the City could allow RDP to collect revenue instead of property taxes and if other Alberta municipalities have such agreements in place with their post-secondary institutions.

It was determined under the Municipal Government Act that the answer to both those questions was a no. Municipalities cannot collect property taxes from commercial properties if located on post-secondary institution land.

The PSI district includes size limits for non-academic uses. With the amount of land available on campus, the City would lose an estimated $5.23 per square foot utilized in potential annual property tax revenue for commercial development.

The bylaw amendment to rezone RDP lands under a PSI district then passed its first reading on Dec. 6.

RDP currently enrolls 3,600 full-course load students. In 2019, the campus recorded an average of over 100,000 visitors per year and contributed over a half a billion dollars to central Alberta’s economy.