On the agenda: Indigenous-led housing, parking revenues, growing university

This week, there is public hearing scheduled on April 7, a city council meeting scheduled on April 8 and 9, and an audit committee meeting scheduled on April 11.

Here are key items on this week’s agenda:

• Council will consider signing a letter of intent to collaborate on Indigenous-led housing and services with Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta at a council meeting on April 8. Treaty 8 territory is located north of Edmonton and includes parts of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Northwest Territories. Administration said it doesn’t have statistics on the number of Treaty 8 members living in Edmonton, but a significant number of members access services at the Treaty 8 Urban Office in Edmonton. Signing the letter of intent formalizes the working relationship between Treaty 8 and the City of Edmonton.
• A city task force recommends council allocate $3.5 million from the Community Safety and Well-being reserve to act as seed money for solutions that address affordable housing and homelessness. The money could go toward retrofitting properties for affordable housing, developing a bridge housing platform, and creating a peer support service for vulnerable tenants. Council is scheduled to vote on the recommendations on April 8.
• Council is set to discuss a program where parking revenues from the parking lot used by the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market would be used to support the Old Strathcona Public Realm Strategy. Council’s urban planning committee recommended the program at a meeting on April 1. The committee also requested a report from administration exploring opportunities for “parking benefit districts,” where parking revenues would be invested into the area they were collected from for improvements like enhanced sidewalks, secure bicycle parking, benches, and lighting.

• Council’s executive committee recommends creating two replacement programs for the development incentive program, which closed in 2023. The first program would offer up to $30,000 for interior renovations to vacant ground floor commercial units, while the second would offer up to $400,000 per year to support the construction of new commercial and mixed-use developments. Council will vote on the programs at the next operating budget adjustment in the fall.
• Timber Haus Developments has applied to rezone a property in Ritchie so it can build housing that is less dense than what is currently allowed. The vacant property at 76 Avenue NW and 97 Street NW is currently zoned for a multi-unit building up to five storeys. The proposed zone would allow for a single-detached house or duplex, with the option of backyard housing. Under the district planning policy, the property is located along the 76 Avenue secondary corridor, meaning it is meant to have dense housing. If approved, the rezoning would result in less intense development along the corridor, but administration said it considers that a tradeoff in exchange for the development of a vacant lot. Council is scheduled to discuss the rezoning application at a public hearing on April 7.
• Administration recommends against rezoning a property 100 metres from the University of Alberta to allow for a 1.5-metre height increase and larger building footprint. The rezoning application said the district planning policy allows for larger buildings when properties meet certain criteria. The lot is near the University-Garneau major node, but is not close enough to a mass transit station, along an arterial or collector roadway, or adjacent to an open space. Council is scheduled to debate the rezoning application at a public hearing on April 7.
• Concordia University of Edmonton has applied to rezone 11120 73 Street NW to facilitate expanding its campus. The rezoning would allow for a four-storey building. The university plans to build a student dormitory on the corner of 73 Street NW and 112 Avenue NW. Council is scheduled to vote on the rezoning at a public hearing on April 7.
• Council will discuss convening a meeting with provincial ministers and regional municipalities to discuss the province’s addiction recovery model; the regional plan of action to address housing, homelessness, mental health, and addictions; and how Edmonton can better align its limited funding to achieve the best outcomes possible.
• Council is scheduled to vote on establishing an infrastructure committee. The proposed committee would be composed of four councillors, plus the mayor as chair, and would operate similarly to council’s existing urban planning, utility, community and public services, and executive committees. The new committee’s mandate would be the “delivery, renewal, and decommissioning of city infrastructure, including financial implications of capital projects and capital project design and delivery.”
• Council will meet in private to discuss collective bargaining and a collaborative economic development memorandum of understanding.
• Council’s audit committee will discuss the city’s 2024 consolidated financial statements and an audit from KPMG. These documents were not uploaded to the city’s website in time for Taproot’s publishing deadline.
• The City of Edmonton plans to sell two downtown office buildings, Chancery Hall and Century Place, and relocate 1,350 staff as part of a $22.7-million project to optimize workspaces. If approved by city council, funding would come from an interim financing reserve, with repayment expected from building sale proceeds and cost savings. Council is expected to debate the sale at a meeting on April 8.
• The Winspear Centre needs an additional $33.4 million to complete its expansion, and council is scheduled to debate if it should give the centre the money at a meeting on April 8. The Winspear said it can’t repay a loan, so the funding would be given in the form of a one-time grant. The grant would require a one-time tax increase of 1.7%, a report detailing the expansion said. Ward Karhiio Coun. Keren Tang said in January that the expansion project will contribute to downtown vibrancy. “This isn’t a bailout as some would like to portray it,” she said. “This is a very unique project that has a long history. There have been a number of circumstances that happened, decisions that have been made, that have led to where it is today.”
• Council’s executive committee recommends changes to the city’s public engagement policy. The city is required to review the policy every four years. A key proposed change is to add phrasing about a “data-driven approach” and the “responsible use of city resources” within the requirements section. The report detailing the proposed changes said this change is meant to reflect the city’s current fiscal realities. Council is scheduled to debate the proposed changes at a meeting on April 8.

Meetings stream live on YouTube on the Chamber channel and River Valley Room channel.

Also: What issues do you care about as you consider who to vote for in the 2025 municipal election, and why? The 2025 municipal elections are approaching. Let us know what matters, and read more about what we plan to do with what we gather.