November 15, 2022
City Council
City of Edmonton
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton AB, T5J 2R7
RE: Nov 15, 2022, Proposed Capital Budget & Proposed Operating Budget and Carbon Budget
To Mayor and City Council:
The Infill Development in Edmonton Association (IDEA) is an educational and advocacy nonprofit, non-partisan association that represents over 180 city builders and city shapers. Our purpose is to drive change toward people-centred communities within Edmonton’s mature neighbourhoods. The majority of our members are small and local businesses, passionate about executing Council’s City Plan goals.
IDEA believes that the first stage of City Plan implementation is critical: growing from 1 million to 1.25 million residents. Getting started and building momentum on this ambitious growth curve means overcoming significant inertia and comfort with the status quo. It requires heavy lifting from our City Plan implementation tools—including the Growth Management Framework, Zoning Bylaw Renewal and the district planning process—to prioritize infill and support a compact, livable and climate-resilient city.
To enable these changes, IDEA has highlighted key unfunded service packages in the proposed budget that are critical to successfully implementing City Plan. These items are listed in order of importance.
Operating Budget
Title: Growth Management Redevelopment Incentives (Pg 255) - Unfunded
It is well known that medium-density infill projects face significant cost barriers that small-scale projects do not face and that large-scale projects can more easily absorb. Key barriers include high costs to relocate electricity infrastructure, lengthy approval timelines (and consequent significant carrying costs), unpredictable water main and hydrant upgrade requirements, inefficient use of land due to transportation and waste management policies, a higher cost for land, and lack of upfront infrastructure information to understand the magnitude of infrastructure costs.
The Infill Cost Share Program and the 2021 Edmonton Economic Incentive Construction Grant program have been demonstrated to spur redevelopment, and similar initiatives will do the same.
As a result, IDEA asks that Council fund the Growth Management Redevelopment Incentives, as it is a key implementation tool to realizing City Plan.
2. Operating Budget
Title: Urban Planning and Economy City Plan Implementation (pg 202) - Unfunded and Ongoing
IDEA supports the creation and sharing of up-to-date data, which is key to making multi-year investment decisions. As noted in the previous point, critical information is currently lacking with regard to infrastructure capacity and upgrade requirements. More transparency and information sharing is needed in order to drive reinvestment in nodes and corridors.
In addition, there are current processes that delay or limit access to information (like infrastructure capacity and upgrade requirements) needed for making investment decisions for people attempting infill and urban redevelopment. This service package will update processes to better facilitate infill by creating and maintaining GIS data and mapping to provide current infrastructure information and by increasing certainty, reducing cost and process barriers to support growth in priority redevelopment areas.
IDEA asks that Council fund the Urban Planning and Economy City Plan Implementation package as an important means to encourage infill and urban redevelopment.
3. Operating Budget
Title - Historic Resource Management Strategy (pg 195) - Unfunded
IDEA supports the creation of a new heritage resource management strategy, which is geographically comprehensive and prioritizes equity, inclusion, and the value of our myriad histories. City Plan calls for us to both preserve our heritage as well as achieve 50% of new growth in mature neighbourhoods. City stakeholders– including community and industry–require clarity as to how to balance these two seemingly competing priorities. The heritage resource management strategy will help to achieve that clarity and allow us to achieve both objectives, with far less friction successfully. All Edmontonians deserve the opportunity to be engaged in determining heritage priorities, as the city belongs to all of us.
4. Capital Budget
Title: Missing or Enhanced Active Modes Support (Page 673) - Unfunded
IDEA believes that well-connected and reliable multi-modal transportation infrastructure is key to helping Edmontonians rethink the way they move around the City. Without creating a safe environment, it is difficult for people of all ages and abilities to consider making alternative choices. As we redevelop our City we need to ensure that sustainable choices in both housing and mobility are provided to Edmontonians.
IDEA asks that Council fund the above packages to help ensure that the goals and benefits outlined in City Plan are realized.
IDEA would like to thank City Administration and Council for their continuous work in implementing City Plan. As stated previously, IDEA believes the first stage of City Plan implementation is critical, and the more information we have to ensure our decision-making is sustainable, the better.
Thank you for your time. If you have any questions, please contact IDEA via Mariah Samji at mariah@infilledmonton.com or 780-951-6926.
Sincerely,
Letter sent to Edmonton City Council, Office of the City Clerks, Deputy City Manager of Urban Planning and Economy