City Council
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton AB, T5J 2R7
September 11, 2020
Dear Mayor and Council,
RE: City Plan
The Infill Development in Edmonton Association (IDEA) is the voice of the infill development industry in Edmonton. Our purpose is to drive change toward people-centred communities, and we do so through a committed volunteer board and diverse membership, including builders, developers, consultants and community members.
We strongly support City Plan’s vision to accommodate two million people within our current boundaries; this is an ambitious goal that we are willing, able and excited to tackle as partners in city building. IDEA was a key stakeholder throughout the plan creation process, and we are pleased to see the new plan come to fruition.
IDEA supports City Plan’s six guiding values; Belong, Thrive, Live, Access, Preserve and Create, and we believe these values are shown consistently throughout the plan. However, to successfully carry out these values, how we execute the plan is critical. To that end, we believe there must be a clear and focused intention on the following matters.
Key Steps:
Infrastructure Funding Plan
City Plan calls for continued infill growth and intensification along nodes and corridors. These goals will not be achieved without commensurate resources dedicated to improving the infrastructure in these critical areas. Infrastructure deficiency is currently the top barrier facing medium scale residential and commercial infill, and until the issue is holistically addressed, we will continue to hamper growth in these key areas, and City Plan will simply remain words on paper. We request immediate action on addressing the infrastructure deficiency by i) reviewing and updating Volume 4 of the City’s Engineering Design and Construction Standards (Water), ii) creating a predictable fee structure for contributions to system upgrades as a whole, rather than piecemeal, one-off fees where infill residents and small businesses are wholly responsible for upgrading deficient infrastructure in an existing neighbourhood.
Retire Contradicting Plans and Policies
Many of our planning policies are currently outdated and/contradictory, and unnecessarily confuse and complicate achieving our City’s stated infill objectives. These contradictions will only become more extreme under the new City Plan unless immediate action is taken. We request Council’s support for creating new district plans and for reviewing and retiring outdated plans that no longer align with the City Plan’s intentions.
Financial Impact Study
The “City Plan Growth Scenarios Relative Financial Assessment” shows that the City Plan Land Use Concept is anticipated to result in growth-related City services capital cost savings of about 10%, or $30 billion, as compared to “Business As Usual”. These cost savings only relate to items such as roads, transit, parks, police, and waste management, and do not include cost savings on linear infrastructure such as underground utilities (pipes, hydrants). However, without a financial assessment that includes this critical infrastructure, Council cannot make truly informed decisions about the maintenance and operating costs they will inherit. We request that future studies include all information pertinent to the financial equation in order for us, as a City, to confidently create growth plans and direct infrastructure investment to priority areas.
Clear Intentions
City Plan is clear about its intention for the City to grow to two million people within our current boundaries, and we have ample space, underutilized lots and surface parking lots on which to accomplish this. However, setting the infill target at only 50% sends the message that we have the will, resources and ability to continue to grow outward in the manner of business-as-usual while at the same time, successfully growing inward. In fact, we do not have this ability.
Now more than ever, due to COVID-19 and lacklustre oil prices, we must focus on our values and priorities and make decisions accordingly. We request that the target to reinvest in our City be set at 55%. Infill is difficult to do, but we need it at all scales, and we need Council’s support to do it. More and better infill will provide more diverse housing options, reduce capital costs, protect the environment and provide a more efficient transit system.
Thank you for your time and attention, we appreciate your ongoing leadership.
Sincerely,
Mariah Samji,
Executive Director, IDEA