This week, council will consider creating a permanent clean energy retrofit program, review the Edmonton Police Service's annual report, and decide if it will establish a pedestrian-friendly entertainment district downtown.
There is a public hearing scheduled for May 13 and a city council meeting scheduled for May 14 with a continuation on May 15.
Here are key items on the agenda:
- Council is set to vote on turning part of Rice Howard Way into a downtown entertainment district on Saturdays starting June 1. Council's community and public services committee recommended giving the bylaw three readings at a meeting in April.
- Edmonton residents who responded to a survey felt about as safe in their community after dark in 2023 as they did in 2022, according to the Edmonton Police Service's 2023 annual report. The overall crime rate decreased in 2023, but there were more violent crimes, leading to a rise in the crime severity index. There was a 13% decrease in occurrences of social disorder, which includes mischief, noise complaints, and public disturbances. The report attributes part of this decline to more visible police presence in areas that typically see a lot of social disorder. City council is scheduled to look at the annual report at a meeting on May 14.
- Council could create a permanent Clean Energy Improvement Program during a vote at a public hearing on May 13. Under the proposed program, property owners could borrow from the city to add energy-efficient upgrades on their homes and repay the loans through their property taxes. Previous pilots of this program have been popular, with money budgeted often running out ahead of schedule. If council approves the bylaw to create the program, applicants could receive loans of up to $50,000 for residential projects and up to $1 million for commercial projects.
Council is scheduled to debate a bylaw that could turn Rice Howard Way into a pedestrian-only zone on Saturdays this summer. (Stephanie Swensrude)
Here are some other items on the agenda:
- A property owner has applied to rezone a property in Westmount that's on the historic resources inventory, and does not plan to keep the historic house standing, according to the city. The brick house at 10503 129 Street NW merits conservation but is not legally protected, the city said. The applicant wants to rezone the lot to allow for a denser residential building of up to three storeys. Administration said it supports the rezoning because the property is located along Stony Plain Road and is compatible with the existing surrounding development. Council is scheduled to vote on the rezoning at a public hearing on May 13.
- Edmonton could learn what sponsor has secured naming rights for the Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre after a council meeting on May 14. Council is scheduled to debate the undisclosed agreement, which the community and public services committee gave the green light to at a meeting in April.
- Council will look at the 2023 annual reports and 2024 work plans for the Edmonton Salutes Committee and Edmonton Youth Council. Applications to join the latter are open until June 9.
- City council is scheduled to debate whether it should loan the Fort Edmonton Management Company $1.5 million to help the park repay COVID-19 wage subsidies it was not eligible for. The executive committee recommended council approve the loan at a meeting in March.
- A new lease agreement between administration and the Citadel Theatre is scheduled to be reviewed at a council meeting on May 14. City council's executive committee recommended the city take on the building's maintenance, operations, and renovations when the lease between the theatre and city expires in September. If the city doesn't sign the lease, the building would still come under city ownership, but the Citadel would no longer be the tenant. "Being left with a building without a core tenant like the Citadel would not be a good outcome for anyone," Coun. Ashley Salvador said.
- Administration is scheduled to give council a private verbal update on collective bargaining on May 14.
- Council is set to discuss councillor appointments to both the Edmonton Arts Council and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in private on May 14.
Meetings stream live on YouTube on the Chamber channel and River Valley Room channel.