As activity fires up at the site of what will be Lac La Biche County's new protective services building, neighbours are sounding the alarm bell.
The building, a 20,000 square-foot structure that was at one point the Ford vehicle dealership in Lac La Biche, will soon house the municipality's main fire hall, peace officers and possibly ambulance crews. In recent weeks, the property has also been serving as a storage and collection area for the municipality's Parks and Open Spaces department.
The building, which was purchased by the municipality a year ago for $4 million, had been in receivership after the owner of the Ford dealership closed the businesses suddenly and left the community two years ago.
The building and its associated property backs onto several houses in a residential subdivision.
As a car dealership, says homeowner Ian Cloutier, the business of selling and servicing vehicles didn't affect neighbouring residents. But in recent weeks — as municipal crews are working to convert the building into a municipal office, and parts of the property are being used for storage, as well as firefighter training courses — things are not rolling along as smoothly.
"The uptick in activity is troubling," says Cloutier who is one of several residents who have signed a petition complaining about the activity. "They moved their Parks crew out here as well, and the thing is, they start at 5:30 in the morning. That's early for that much noise in what is practically the middle of town."
Cloutier and the residents say the firefighter training sessions have already started up. The night-time sessions using spray foam and mechanical equipment are creating noises and smells that the residents didn't expect.
"I don't know what they were doing the other night, but we had people in our neighbourhood having to close their windows and coming inside from their own yards," he said, explaining that the disturbances are constant. "The training and the Parks staff is something going on every single day."
Like others in the relatively new subdivision, living behind an existing commercial properties that housed a car dealership and an adjacent hardware store was something they agreed to when homes were purchased or built, says Cloutier — but the current property use is far beyond what the thought it would be.
"We knew what we were getting ourselves into when it was the car dealership — but this is nothing like that."
Residents who signed the petition also claim they were not notified about the activities that would be taking place in and around the building. The petition calls for the activities to cease and consultation with the community and directly-affected neighbours.
Lac La Biche County spokesperson Jihad Moghrabi said a community news release was sent to the public last September outlining the need to proved the Fire Services department with a more spacious and central location. He says neighbouring residents were not specifically informed about the conversion.
"Notifying adjacent property owners directly was not a requirement — using the property as a protective services building is a permitted use," Moghrabi said, explaining that fire stations and protective services buildings are deemed to be "essential service buildings," and can be placed in any development zone — including the highway commercial zone, which the property falls under. "The zoning didn't change ... The County issued a development permit in accordance with the County's bylaws."
Getting together
On an administrative level, the issue falls within proper protocols of zoning, land use and notification, however Moghrabi said the municipality is taking extra steps on the community level, with the Manager of Protective Services speaking directly with a representative of the concerned homeowners.
"They are working together to alleviate residents’ concerns," said Moghrabi, explaining that the relationship between municipal projects and the taxpaying residents is always at the forefront of decisions. "Lac La Biche County has five other fire stations, and Fire Services works hard to maintain great relationships with our neighbours. We look forward to building a great relationship with residents living near the new Protective Services Building as well."
Lac La Biche County councillors have been given copies of the letter. The topic is on this week's regular council meeting agenda where it is expected to be discussed further.
