Community and public services committee meets on March 7, urban planning committee meets on March 8, and executive committee is on March 9. There is also a special city council meeting scheduled for March 8. Here are some of the key items on the agenda:
- City council is set to discuss Edmonton's face-covering bylaw on March 8, after the Alberta government lifted its mask mandate on March 1. Council was required to review its bylaw when the province lifted its rules, but the city has not yet met its threshold for its second trigger: 100 or fewer active COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people for 28 consecutive days. There have been several developments ahead of the meeting, including the city asking for resident input and Premier Jason Kenney announcing that he wants to amend the Municipal Government Act to force municipalities to lift their mask bylaws. He plans to introduce those changes in the legislature as early as this week.
- Executive committee will consider the requirements and proposed priorities for a coordinated program and budget for city-owned historic resources. The city currently does not have a program or budget that is focused on the stewardship of historic buildings or sites, but owns and maintains 61 of them.
- The community and public services committee will look at options to regulate designated driver services, but administration recommends continuing to regulate these services under the business licence bylaw.
Here's what else is on the agenda:
- The community and public services committee will receive an update on the vehicle for hire program, including initiatives that were taken to "promote safe and accessible vehicle for hire services in the city." The Women's Advocacy Voice of Edmonton and accessibility advisory committees will also respond to the report.
- The community and public services committee will hear about community prioritization of potential capital projects in Balwin/Belvedere. So far, five small projects have passed the first checkpoint of the development and delivery model, and others will be considered as part of the 2023-2026 capital budget cycle.
- Urban planning committee will discuss administration's engagement with homeowners' associations regarding care for parkland, maintenance agreements, and public awareness of who is responsible for what.
- The tax notice format and implications of adjustments to residential tax rates and subclasses, which were both postponed from the Feb. 16 executive committee meeting, will be discussed.
Meetings are streamed live on city council's YouTube channel.
Photo: Coun. Andrew Knack and Mayor Amarjeet Sohi at City Hall for council's swearing in during October 2021. (Mack Male/Flickr)