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Published on May 23, 2024 • 3 min read
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Edmonton city councillors attend the first day of public hearings on possible changes to the zoning bylaw, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. Photo by David Bloom/Postmedia
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If you need further evidence that Edmonton city hall is way too cozy with infill developers, look no further than a city council hearing scheduled for May 28 on the neighborhood plan.
Some of the proposals are so shocking that the public is in the dark. It's not their fault. The meeting agenda is complicated and the details are buried deep. For example, to find one of the time bombs in the District Plan, you have to go to “Charter Bylaws 24000 District Policies” and read through 27 pages of fine print to section 2.5.2.6.
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Section 2.5.2.6 came late in the process, reflecting the concerns of infill developers and not public input. It opens the door to the construction of buildings with “additional height” (no limit specified) in locations that meet two of six criteria. Under this policy, city staff must consider applications to build buildings six or eight stories or more tall on corner lots adjacent to parks or open space, and on parcels along collector streets adjacent to parks or schoolyards. Collector streets run through nearly every neighborhood, connecting local residential areas with major arterial roads. When one of these buildings is built, nearby properties can also add height. It’s the ultimate in block busting.
Policy 2.5.2.6 is the core option for infill development and the City Council seems ready to press the launch button.
Policy 2.5.2.6 comes in addition to neighborhood plans that create “nodes” and “corridors” covering hundreds of blocks in residential neighborhoods where mid-rise and high-rise buildings will be permitted. If you live in Belgravia, Boony Doon, Crestwood, Garneau, Glenora, Highlands, Laurier Heights, Lendrum, Mill Creek, Parkallen, Pleasant View, Queen Alexandra, Ritchie, Strathearn, Westmount and dozens of other neighborhoods, prepare for changes you probably never saw coming.
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In exchange for granting these concessions, the City gets nothing in terms of affordability, energy efficiency, family housing, solar readiness, or contextual sensitivity. The City is not negotiating with infill developers; they've surrendered. The majority of buildings constructed under these changes will be built to minimum legal standards and will be environmentally unsustainable from the day they open. If City Council can't get this done properly, it's time to slow down.
The May 28 proposal is part of a process that includes a larger zoning ordinance overhaul that the City Council approved last October with a final vote of 13-0. (Councillors Karen Principe and Jennifer Rice proposed suspending the new zoning ordinance but ultimately voted in favor of it.)
These changes essentially allow eight housing units to be built on a 50-foot lot, significantly reduce the grounds for objections and neighbor input, and remove the requirement that infill fit into neighborhood context. Infill developers are already fast-tracking their projects through the approval process.
These changes go far beyond those being considered in other parts of the country. Calgary city council recently passed a bylaw that would allow up to four homes to be built on single-family lots and require infill buildings to fit in with mature neighborhood contexts. After heated debate, the bylaw passed 9-6 and is expected to be an issue in the 2025 city election.
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This raises the question of who orchestrated Edmonton city council's final 13-0 vote for more extreme measures, and who is behind policies like 2.5.2.6 that do not reflect public opinion or a consensus among city planners.
City Hall justifies these changes as conforming to the 2020 City Plan. It is no exaggeration to say that less than 1 in 50 Edmontonians know the details of City Plans. City Plans are grand solutions imposed by City Hall, and the history of city planning is full of failed grand solutions.
There is no doubt that we need to confront the climate crisis and increase the supply of affordable housing, but deregulating the infill industry and granting unconditional concessions will accomplish neither, as its business model is to build cheap and sell dear.
We encourage Edmontonians to pressure their community league, oppose these changes, contact their councillors and speak out at public hearings.
The gulf between this council and the voters is immense. There is a strong possibility that the unconditional concession will be approved again. If that happens, the next opportunity for meaningful public input will be the 2025 City Council election. Remember how your city council members vote.
Wendy Antoniuk, Marie Gordon, Joe Miller, James Spar and Kevin Taft are the steering committee of the rapidly growing Better Infill Coalition. Visit www.BetterInfill.ca .
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