The Pulse: April 11, 2022

The damage done as a result of problem properties has "reached a boiling point," and city council needs new tools to try to deal with them, say two city councillors.

An update on the problem properties initiative will be received by the community and public services committee on April 11, in response to a motion made last fall by Coun. Ashley Salvador.

Ward Métis saw 429 "fire-related events" between November 2020 and October 2021, most of them in the Alberta Avenue area, Salvador said on Episode 173 of Speaking Municipally. A lot of those incidents were deliberately set fires in vacant structures.

"We are limited as members of council in our authority to launch or conduct investigations. But we do have powers related to taxation, fines, and other bylaw actions," she said. "So I'm going to be looking at additional tools for enforcement for both tenant-occupied and vacant derelict problem properties, as well as things like property tax subclasses, so that there are financial penalties applied to these properties."

Coun. Michael Janz said council has an opportunity to do something about all kinds of vacant and underused lots by broadening the scope of what is considered a problem property. For example, he said, Ward papastew has developments that are stalled and sitting empty or abandoned, with no consequences for the owners of that land.

"Every year, land speculators get to sit on property around our city that's blight to us but is incremental profit to them. And that's got to stop," he told Taproot's civic affairs podcast.

• Street sweeping starts today across Edmonton, the city has announced. "We ask residents to be ready to move their vehicles and provide room for our crews to work as we clear sand and debris from streets and boulevards," said Philip Herritt, the city's director of infrastructure operations. Street sweeping runs Monday through Friday, 24 hours a day, for the next eight weeks or so. In addition to temporary signage in neighbourhoods, residents can consult the sweeping schedule online.
• The 2022 federal budget includes $1.5 billion over two years for the Rapid Housing Initiative, though it is unclear how much of that would be allocated to Edmonton. A per capita calculation would amount to about $100 million, Hani Quon, the city's acting director of affordable housing and homelessness, told CBC News. So far, Edmonton has received $61 million to build 348 supportive housing units through the program which launched in 2020.
• The Katz Group is proposing to turn nearly 5.3 hectares of land north of Rogers Place into Village at ICE District, a mixed-use development that would include up to 2,500 residential units spread across a mix of high-rise and mid-rise buildings. "It's probably a whole lot closer to Vancouver architecture than Edmonton architecture," Warren Champion, vice-president of the Central McDougall Community League, told CBC News. The Edmonton Design Committee has written a letter of support for the project, and the city is collecting input online until April 24. A public hearing is slated to take place this summer.
• A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday for The Parks, a new residential development located at the corner of Jasper Avenue and 108 Street, just west of the future Warehouse Park. The project — which will consist of three towers at heights of 13 storeys, 35 storeys, and 45 storeys — will offer more than 1,000 rental spaces once complete in the next seven to nine years.
• The city said on Friday that despite the lack of an aerial component this year, its mosquito program will include "robust and targeted ground and ditch control measures" with an increased focus on natural approaches such as "novel biological technology, habitat modification, and enhanced biodiversity surveillance and monitoring." City council will receive more information on the enhancements in "the coming weeks."
• The Princess Theatre, Edmonton's oldest surviving theatre, is up for sale for $3.1 million. "Our hope for a buy is someone who's willing to just retain the theatre's original function... in an effort to try and preserve the history and culture behind the building," TJ Brar, whose father owns the building, told CBC News.

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.

This week's calendar includes a fundraiser for Ukraine, a conversation about inclusive language, a showcase for women who lead, an opportunity to meet city council, and a chance to learn more about hydrogen.

• April 12: Elevate presents Food for Thought: Pronouns & Gender at The Creative Hive
• April 13: They Who Surround Us at the Art Gallery of Alberta
• April 13: Women in Leadership Conference at The Westin Edmonton
• April 14: Meet the Council from the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce
• April 14: Building a low-carbon hydrogen economy in the Edmonton region from the Edmonton Region Hydrogen Hub

Photo: A still from They Who Surround Us, a film shot in Vegreville that will be screened at a fundraiser for the Cobblestone Freeway Support Ukraine Foundation on April 13 and 16. (details)