Business park proposal that would relocate Fulton Creek, remove 6,900 trees fails to pass

Mrinali Anchan · CBC News

· Posted: May 08, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

A rezoning exertion that would relocate a creek successful southeast Edmonton and region thousands of trees to let for much concern onshore failed astatine a nationalist proceeding astatine Edmonton's metropolis hallway Wednesday.  

The exertion was submitted by V3 Companies of Canada connected behalf of Fulton Creek Business Park with the purpose of allowing for much onshore for concern usage near Roper Road, 30th Street and 24th Street. 

The complexity of the exertion meant requiring assembly to o.k. amendments to the zoning bylaw, the Maple Ridge Area Structure Plan, the North Saskatchewan River Valley Area Redevelopment Plan and the Southeast District Plan.

However, assembly was divided by what proved to beryllium 1 of the astir arguable aspects of the application: the relocation of Fulton Creek. 

The question failed arsenic the ballot ended successful a 6-6 necktie during Wednesday's nationalist proceeding meeting. 

"I deliberation assembly and our medication has been enactment into a precise benignant of compromising oregon contradictory position," said Coun. Jo-Anne Wright, whose Ward Sspomitapi includes the creek. 

Wright was among those who voted against the motion. 

"We're being asked close present to compromise our committedness and argumentation absorption for biology sustainability," she said.

"We're being asked to marque a prime betwixt the economical payment — arsenic flimsy arsenic I deliberation it is — successful this circumstantial onshore usage lawsuit and the extortion of our earthy areas, which person been I think, degraded implicit the years." 

Wright besides expressed interest implicit a deficiency of consultation with Papaschase First Nation. 

"I would person liked to seen a small much effort to link with the Papaschase band," Wright said. 

"It was Papaschase set that stewarded these lands earlier they were stolen." 

CBC has requested further remark from Papaschase First Nation. 

City medication told assembly they were successful enactment of the rezoning exertion aft weighing the pros and cons of the project. 

An approved exertion would person seen an enlargement of 4.9 hectares of onshore for concern usage and make up to 400 jobs. 

However, metropolis medication recovered it would necessitate the removal of 6,900 trees and mightiness origin imaginable harm to the ecosystem. 

"The dependable wound of 6,900 trees being removed. Remember that these trees are being replaced," Mark Edwards, the elder manager of improvement astatine Panattoni Development, told assembly astir the mitigation efforts the institution would undertake successful relocating the creek. 

"This isn't a nett loss, so there's really a nett summation successful trees."  

Other assembly members like Tim Cartmell and Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, who some voted successful favour, said they felt satisfied by the mitigation efforts outlined by the concern parkland applicant. 

"We're inactive a metropolis of 1.2 cardinal people. We inactive request a important magnitude of non-residential development. We inactive person sizeable fiscal restraints and concerns on our city," Cartmell said. 

"This volition actually, with support of this application, effect successful a protected abstraction and a well-managed space, which is not needfully the lawsuit if it falls backmost to the metropolis to instrumentality work for."

Sohi expressed apprehension astatine voting against the application, citing it could beryllium seen arsenic a deterrence to different projects. 

"We person mislaid a immense magnitude of concern maturation to the region, and that has enactment our metropolis successful a precise hard fiscal position, wherever we are putting specified a load connected the residential spot owners, due to the fact that we person mislaid our stock of concern maturation from 74 per cent, to six down to 60 per cent," said Sohi.

"So each incremental determination that comes successful beforehand of america to rebalance that backmost into much concern growth."  

Other nationalist stakeholders similar the Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition were staunchly opposed to the application. 

"We're precise relieved that this connection did not pass," Kristine Kowalchuk, conjugation chair, told CBC successful an interview. 

"This scenery formed implicit thousands of years, and you can't conscionable regenerate trees … you can't conscionable replant them and redevelop an ecosystem, a functioning ecosystem, successful 10 years," Kowalchuk said noting the onshore was recovered to person astatine slightest 20 taxon of birds successful an environmental appraisal made nationalist arsenic portion of the proceeding astatine metropolis hall. 

"We did a tract sojourn conscionable a fewer days agone to instrumentality a look astatine this creek, and close now, the creek is afloat of frogs singing. So it's not a heavy degraded land. This is onshore that is functioning arsenic important situation and a wildlife corridor today."