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Last year, Edmonton welcomed close to 40,000 new residents to our city. By 2030, the University of Alberta alone is aiming to recruit 16,000 more students yearly. Were Edmonton to continue to grow at this pace for the next decade, and who can say with certainty it won’t, our city in 2033 will be nearly an Edmonton-and-a-half-sized version of the city we live in today.
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Shock through numbers is needed as we enter the city’s Zoning Bylaw Renewal discussion, which council will debate starting Oct. 16. As critics have pointed out, this zoning discussion is materially different from those of the past. City planners have proposed a comprehensive rewrite to how the city regulates land.
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Gone will be exclusive zoning that gives the most affluent the most say over land use. In its place will be permissive zoning that allows more equity, through allowing gentle density development, like rental and multi-family housing, almost everywhere in the already-built city. And as proponents have pointed out, the mass of people Edmonton expects to arrive is one of several reasons we need to pass these changes, now.
Let’s get some things straight. Every neighbourhood in Edmonton will be disrupted by the influx of new residents — regardless of what’s decided at the Oct. 16 meeting. Any position that suggests resisting this bylaw will protect one’s quiet residential street from change is fantasy.
Any position that brushes aside the financial, service level and climate consequences of growth through sprawl development is unsettling. And any position that frames support for this change as being “pro-developer” ignores that the city’s largest developers predominantly work on greenfield sprawl development.
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Further, any position that suggests pausing this decision because Edmonton residents have not been consulted ignores City of Edmonton consultation on this project, beginning in 2018 and intensifying over the past two years. Indeed, at some point, no amount of information gathering, sharing, discussing, synthesizing, debating or otherwise can shift positions on a profound change. We do not expect more years of consultation to create an overwhelming consensus that Edmonton should become a denser city.
What we do expect over time is for Edmonton to grow. And so, as the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL) has pondered its position on the Zoning Bylaw Renewal question, we have reflected on how Edmonton should grow.
How can Edmonton see half the trips people take in our city not be in a car, or half of all new houses be built in existing neighbourhoods? How can we maintain services in the many mature and established neighbourhoods that hold fewer people today than when they were built? How can we build thriving, diverse communities where everyone can live, work, and find recreation and connection? And how can we build a city that recognizes the lack of progress on climate action — eight out of 10 residents want it — and city council’s 2018 declaration of a climate emergency?
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Our position is that we understand community leagues broadly want to be engaged further in the development of these regulations, but specifically to ensure we respond adequately to the climate crisis. We believe there is an opportunity to invite community leagues to engage on a bylaw amendment focused explicitly on climate adaptation and mitigation.
We therefore support the city’s proposed bylaw, but that support is contingent on formal climate mitigation measures being incorporated into the bylaw itself, or in a subsequent amendment.
In our consultation with league representatives, including members of the EFCL board, City of Edmonton planners to answer questions, EFCL staff, and a few city councillors, we asked for a brief vision of each person’s future neighbourhood. League representatives consistently described connected, dynamic, sustainable and inclusive neighbourhoods. They painted pictures of thriving places with access to healthy food, local shops, parks, amenities and schools. Those pictures included a diversity of building types, family compositions, incomes and cultures.
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Affordability was a consistent concern. Leagues in our engagement recognized the need for more housing and greater diversity of housing types. Many pointed to the need to ensure neighbourhoods can better accommodate aging residents, young families and folks with disabilities. Another concern was that consultations in person have been less frequent than virtual consultations.
Climate, however, was the central and consistent concern. We believe that leagues will be in a unique position to leverage engagement on this topic as the city moves forward on discussions about district planning.
It may shock some to see the EFCL and community leagues in general not being central platforms for those most resistant to changes in neighbourhoods. We know this has been the case in the past.
But, as we continue to evolve as an organization and a federation of 162 (soon to be 163) leagues, the lack of this discussion from us and a majority of leagues is now entirely by design. Leagues are democratic organizations that must aspire to speak for all in their communities, not just the most vocal, influential or motivated.
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Leagues are, broadly speaking, concerned about a handful of aspects of this proposed change but in agreement with most of it. As a result, those opposed to this shift have created single-issue neighbourhoodgroups rather than use league resources.
We recognize building cities for growth is difficult, even frightening. It means change is coming. We also recognize, however, that there is an Edmonton consensus that we must act on climate, now. How we use land going forward is our city’s most profound tool to influence climate.
Given this, we support this bylaw only if climate mitigation measures are incorporated into it, or in a subsequent amendment. We are thankful for leagues leading the way on this position and volunteering to help guide the City of Edmonton to a more sustainable place.
Jenn Parsonage is Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL) president since 2022.
Laura Cunningham-Shpeley is EFCL executive director.
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