Coming up at council: April 11-15, 2022 Administration will seek authorization to begin working on district plans for Edmonton, which will help people more easily access their needs through walking, biking, or transit. (Mack Male/Flickr)

Coming up at council: April 11-15, 2022

· The Pulse
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Community and public services committee meets on April 11, and urban planning committee meets on April 12. There is also a special audit committee meeting on April 12 and an executive committee meeting on April 13. Here are some of the key items on the agenda this week:

  • Administration is seeking approval to begin preparing district plans and a district general policy in alignment with its move toward ensuring Edmontonians can meet their needs within a 15-minute walk, bicycle ride, or transit trip from home. This item will first go to urban planning committee but will require council approval to move forward. If all goes according to plan, the city will begin further engagement and information sharing sessions in June 2022 until the project is wrapped up at the end of 2023.
  • Executive committee will hear about a new initiative to support businesses in the city, which aims to help Edmontonians who are opening or expanding a business. Business Friendly Edmonton will provide resources and support in an effort to keep businesses operating here and attract investment. There are also opportunities for startups that want to test their ideas on a larger scale in a municipal context.
  • Administration will provide a report to the community and public services committee on opportunities for the city to provide support to Edmonton-based women's shelters. The report found that mental health and cultural support, nursing resources, and help for those who are precariously housed due to immigration status are all areas that could use one-time funding. Other opportunities to strengthen the city's support for women's shelters include ongoing operational funding, increasing awareness of capital funding, writing letters of support, and more.
  • Community and public services committee will get an update on the problem property initiative, which aims to address properties that create chronic issues in the communities they're in. There are more than 250 properties currently identified, and a problem properties framework will replace the current action plans for the 2023-2026 budget cycle.

Here are some of the other notable agenda items:

City council will also hold a non-regular meeting on April 13 to receive annual reports from several boards and committees, including the Edmonton historical board, accessibility advisory committee, anti-racism advisory committee, and others.

Meetings are streamed live on city council's YouTube channel.