While the city leans towards giving the Kam Lake Expansion project the green light, some area residents are pushing to keep the space green.
The development project proposes to subdivide and sell the city-owned land west of Enterprise Drive. The city of Yellowknife began exploring a plan to develop the 68.1 hectares of land back in 2020, but a vocal group of residents are hoping to halt the proposal.
On April 14 the city administration presented recommendations from a 2024 public engagement and market study on the proposed expansion of the Kam Lake light industrial area
City administration advised the council to amend a community bylaw to redesignate a portion of land next to Kam Lake and give the green light to go ahead with an expansion plan. A number of Yellowknife city councillors showed support for the proposal, but a decision has yet to be made by council.
Charlsey White, the city’s director of planning and development, said that the city is looking to use the land for industrial, commercial and possibly agricultural use.
Back in 2024, community members who took part in the public engagement argued that instead of expanding development into undeveloped areas, the city could expand industrial development into areas that are already developed.
At that time community members began calling for a land assessment to investigate what type of land use is most appropriate for Kam Lake.
“Participants identified land demand assessment for the intended use as a key concern. While some questioned the need to expand light industrial areas in Kam Lake, there was broad agreement that an updated market demand review should guide future development of the land,” said the city in their public engagement report.
City staff noted a “strong emphasis” on the need for a proper land demand assessment, which demanded documented evidence to support the claim for “needed” development.
In their report, city staff also identified a “shortage of available lots for businesses requiring large parcels, staging areas, and logistical support.”
The assessment suggested allocating land “to accommodate growing interests in emerging industries such as commercial agriculture and horticulture.”
“Future development should align with existing industrial intensification trends, focusing on light industrial, commercial, and agricultural uses,” said city staff in the report.
Coun. Tom McLennan supported the proposed expansion but expressed concerns that the proposed expansion area is a high-risk wildfire location.
The location relies on trucked water and sewage services.
McLennan and Coun. Ryan Fequet questioned whether the city would be able to fund fire protection resources and services if development were to go forward.
Craig MacLean, the director of public safety, also expressed concern about the risk of fire and the capacity of the trucked water fire protection system.
City manager, Stephen Van Dine said the city would assess the fire protection budget for Kam Lake at a future meeting in the spring.
Couns. Garett Cochrane and Ben Hendriksen showed their support for the city’s recommendations.
The city said it will continue to conduct public engagement and attend to expressed concerns.
If the city’s recommendations are approved by council, the development plan will begin.
The marked study concluded in support of creating an Area Development Plan to ensure growth is “coordinated, demand‐driven, and aligned with long‐term economic objectives” for the city.
Some residents felt a lack of trust in the city’s consultation process.
“Past promises by the City Council to preserve the area as green space have led to frustration over the current proposals. Many attendees expressed significant concerns about how well the City has handled previous issues, such as firebreaks and water management, and called for more transparency in the consultation and planning processes,” the city acknowledged.
The city report also acknowledged a call to “maintain the environmental and recreational quality of the area” to preserve and even expand it.
Area residents called for “more meaningful” community engagement and consultation.
“Various residents suggested more diverse land use options, including residential and recreational uses, and stressed the importance of reflecting the community’s true needs and desires in any future development plans,” said the city.
The city acknowledged that the community feedback showed a “strong desire” for the city to prioritize transparency, enforcement, and community-centric planning in any new developments. The city noted there were common threads of concern, such as the importance of respecting previous commitments, preserving environmental and recreational spaces.
Kyle Thomas owns property bordering the proposed expansion zone. Thomas told True North FM that the land area is “quite large” and that there are “many facets” to consider.
“I think the proper approach would be to do a land assessment and identify what the land could be used for, what the needs are of residents and businesses in the area and our greater community.”
Thomas said that part of the reason why residents gave their input was because they want to see certain things happen in certain parts of that area, “if they were to happen.
“One of them being agriculture. They levelled a lot of trees and land out back behind us,” said Thomas.
The area could potentially be used for agricultural development.
“Rather than just backfilling it with rocks and calling it an empty lot for someone to develop on, they might as wel pull out one of their other strategies which would have been the 2019, agriculture strategy that they developed and try to check off some action items that were developed there that might suit this area, which kind of zoned agriculture in their community plan.”
One thing that both the city and area residents agree on is that everyone needs to be kept in the loop.
“I do ask the planning department of the city to keep interested parties informed,” said Thomas.
Thomas and his partner expressed their concerns in a letter submitted with the public engagement report.
“We believe this area, if developed, should be directly related to the improvement of the lives of the residents of Yellowknife. Either through additional public green space, growing or raising of local food, or through increased small businesses,” they said.
True North FM reached out to city councillors to hear more about their views on the proposed development and will share those insights once they are available.
