Here are some of the items city council will discuss at committee meetings this week:
- The Minimum Emergency Shelter Standard aims to increase accessibility and utilization of emergency shelters, though the city's ability to regulate the standards is limited. The report suggests that "increased resources and support from the Government of Alberta ... would be critical to success."
- About 5% of the North Saskatchewan River watershed upstream of Edmonton is currently held by coal leases which "does pose a risk" to the city's sole source of drinking water. A risk assessment of upstream coal mining conducted by EPCOR indicates that in the event of a catastrophic mine failure, "there would be an extreme impact on downstream water quality." Administration recommends further review to determine the need for a formal watershed management plan.
- Executive committee will consider the below market sale of two affordable housing sites that would result in 66 new units of affordable housing in the Garneau and Queen Alexandra neighbourhoods. They'll also look at a long-term land lease with GEF Seniors Housing that would result in 40-60 units of mixed-income, seniors affordable housing.
- An update on district planning outlines administration's intended shift away from neighbourhood-level planning for implementation of the City Plan. Administration proposes 15 district plans and a district general policy to create "a simplified, consistent, and nimble policy landscape ... necessary to support future growth." The plans are scheduled to be brought to a public hearing by the end of 2022.
- A proposed update to the Edmonton Design Committee Bylaw would provide administration with the ability to exempt certain projects from review, and makes changes to the structure of the committee.
- A proposed update to the Naming Municipal Assets Policy includes new language to better reflect equity and inclusion "with prioritization and focus on Indigenous place names."
- The City of Edmonton currently has roughly 160 peace officers. In the first half of the year, officers responded to more than 38,000 events with 315 of those documented as use of force incidents. Five formal complaints were filed against officers in that time.
Meetings are streamed live on city council's YouTube channel.
Photo: The new Herb Jamieson emergency shelter, currently under construction, is expected to open in October 2021 with 400 beds. (Hope Mission)