Edmonton City Council
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB T5J 2R7
December 2, 2021
Dear Mayor and Council,
RE: Enterprise Land Development Program
Thank you for taking the time to hear from the Infill Development in Edmonton Association (IDEA). IDEA is an education and advocacy nonprofit, non-partisan association that represents over 180 city builders and shapers who are passionate about creating people-centred communities within Edmonton’s mature neighbourhoods. Collectively our industry members generate more than 2,500 jobs in Edmonton.
IDEA is currently working with the city on multiple City Plan implementation projects including Zoning Bylaw Renewal, District Planning, the Energy Transition Strategy and the Growth Management Framework. We are interested in the Enterprise Land Development Program specifically because of the opportunities that divestment can create for supporting ongoing city building work aligned with City Plan.
IDEA recommends that City Council maintain the decision to divest from residential
development and redirect proceeds to vital City Plan objectives. For example, densification of nodes and corridors requires significant upgrades to our city’s infrastructure capacity—this is a major challenge, and a challenge that requires a holistic solution: infrastructure upgrades cannot be funded long term on a piecemeal basis if we hope to achieve the objectives of City Plan. We strongly recommend that the City maintain its decision to move away from land development and focus instead on its role to create systems, processes and policies to facilitate high quality development in alignment with City Plan objectives.
We look forward to continuing to work together as your city-building partners to help realize the goals of City Plan.
Sincerely,
Chelsey Jersak
President
Infill Development in Edmonton Association
Mariah Samji
Executive Director
Infill Development in Edmonton Association
This letter was sent to Edmonton’s Honourable Mayor and City Council - Dec 2, 2021