SEE Magazine
Issue #415: November 15, 2001
Copyright © 2001. All Rights Reserved

News by Kevin Wilson Before you get to the business end of the sentence in question, you need to sift through the more than 90 words that establish the parameters. That preamble comprehensively lays on the table all of the provincial acts, municipal bylaws and subsidiary provisions that might regulate land development – any measure, in fact, that calls for "compliance with any rules, controls, standards or regulations contained in any building code or similar bylaw, land use bylaw, [or] statutory plan" or requires prior approval before development of property can begin. And the reason that all of those possible forms of restriction need to be mentioned is to explain that, in this particular case, none of them apply – not to any land or buildings owned by a university in the province of Alberta. On the face of it, Section 50 (Subsection 1) of Alberta’s Universities Act serves to safeguard the intellectual autonomy of our institutions of higher learning, protecting their pursuit of knowledge – and the infrastructure that pursuit requires – from the ideological vagaries of municipal and provincial governments. But some Edmontonians fear that Section 50 – in tandem with Section 19, which allows universities to expropriate whatever land they deem necessary – gives post-secondary schools far too much latitude, enough that they have the power to significantly and sometimes deleteriously affect life in neighbouring communities. Moreover, some charge, the University of Alberta has exceeded the original intention of Section 50, transferring its special privileges from the educational to the commercial sphere. College Plaza: A Trial Balloon? When critics want to explain their distrust of the university as a neighbour and their unease about the institution’s ability to transfer its special status to profit-making ventures, they usually point to the College Plaza complex at the west end of Whyte Avenue, now known as Windsor Park Place. Sandy McLeod understands the need for university independence. "If you’re looking at an intellectual institution that may not be saying popular things about a civic or provincial or federal government," says the Garneau Community League president, "then they have to have some kind of autonomy, so I appreciate that, but I don’t appreciate it being abused." "They abused [their Section 50 powers] with College Plaza," says McLeod. "The university bought that building, leased it back to the developer Westcorp" for a term that is reported to be no less than 30 years. McLeod is angry that the university has been allowed to transfer its privileges to a commercial concern. "Basically, the university got into a non-university function with that building. They bought that building and allowed a developer to then go forward and develop that building however they wanted because they’re not subject to any of the [municipal] bylaws." And the developer, says McLeod, has clearly availed itself of the freedom inherited from the university. "For instance, if you wanted to throw up a four-story building in Garneau, how much parking do you think you’d have to throw in? How much did we get? Nothing." "What did the community get? We’re getting trees ripped up for parking access." "That’s an example of the kind of power they have," says McLeod. No representative from the university was available for comment at press time, but the institution has argued that it entered into an arrangement with the City of Edmonton whereby it would solicit input. McLeod contends that the process was flawed, leaving too much power in the hands of those proposing changes and leaving too little room for intervention by groups like her own. She’s worried that there’s more ahead. "I think it was a trial balloon." Future Tense Some university neighbours view the outcome of the College Plaza deal with alarm. And now, they fear, the stakes may be far higher. Take, for instance, the West 240, a large undeveloped university holding that falls between two residential communities, Grandview Heights and Landsdowne, which the university sees as being a significant part of its plans for growth over the next 10 to 50 years. Kathie Brett, who has served as a representative for the Lendrum community, is concerned about what she sees as a plan to turn the West 240 into a research park for what are called "university partners." "When you realize that when the university forms spinoff companies they’re only supposed to retain a maximum of 20 per cent ownership, basically these are private companies that have the opportunity to have prime land." Moreover, any developments would be exempt from normal regulatory oversight. "Was this truly the purpose for Section 50?" she wonders. Brett expresses frustration over feelings of powerlessness to influence the kinds of projects that might take shape, "especially when you look at the size of the development that’s proposed and the number of neighbourhoods that would be impacted, the fact that those neighbourhoods have no legal recourse to deal with concerns except to hope that the university will take it into consideration; basically our only recourse is political pressure." The university has established an elaborate framework for community consultation, but Brett is guarded. "I think the university would like to think that it will take into account community considerations and will attempt to do so to some extent. However, there are a number of things that go against that," one of which, she says, "is their long history of operating like an independent principality which really is beholden to no one but the provincial government." The university has urged residents to remain calm – after all, it’s not known what will happen on the West 240; but Brett cautions residents against wholeheartedly accepting the university’s assurances. She points to the College Plaza experience and that as long as Section 50 remains in force, there is danger. She thinks the measure will attract greater attention in the future, although at that point, it may be too late. "I think that issue will come to the fore again when some of this development proceeds because I think people will be a little shocked to realize what could go in there and the only input you have is what the university permits you to have." McLeod has been involved in several attempts to persuade the provincial government to review the Universities Act’s Section 50, but all of her attempts are eventually rebuffed. The Act comes up for review in two-and-a-half years, she says, but even if she felt that the political will existed to make changes – and she doesn’t – two-and-a-half years is a long time for the communities who feel themselves at risk.

| Back To This Issue Table of Contents | Back To Main Index |