The city is inviting public comment on its plans for the future of development in Edmonton.
The final draft City Plan has been posted online for Edmontonians to read and comment on.
It outlines how Edmonton will change as it transitions from a city of 1-million people to 2 million.
The PDF upload of the plan itself allows readers to highlight specific sections and then write comments about what they’ve selected.
The plan — and the public engagement surrounding its development — has been in the works since 2018.
This is the second opportunity for comment: the first draft was posted in October, where city officials said they received 1,300 comments from Edmontonians.
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Those comments were all considered and used to amend the current draft. The current feedback session, which launched Dec. 16, will be open until Jan. 16, 2020, and will be the final opportunity for online feedback in its development.
City officials say a public hearing will also be planned sometime in 2020 for in-person comments before the document becomes official.
One of the main aspects of the plan is a focus on redevelopment as opposed to new developments. As the population grows, the focus on redevelopment would also increase.
For example, when Edmonton’s population reaches 1.25-million people, the city hopes to achieve 35 per cent net growth through redevelopment. When the population hits 1.75 million, that increases to 70 per cent redevelopment growth. At 2 million, the city would aim to hit 80 per cent redevelopment growth, with only 20 per cent new developments.
“As a result of growing exclusively within Edmonton’s current boundaries, more higher-density homes will be needed to accommodate new Edmonton,” the draft plan said.
“This change in urban form will mean more efficient use of the land resources in Edmonton.”
The city aims to increase infill development for new residential units to 50 per cent. Currently, fewer than 25 per cent of new units are added to established areas of the city. The plan said that in 2019, most new growth happens outside of Anthony Henday Drive, but the city wants to shift that to within, in already established neighbourhoods.
The plan also outlines green initiatives: with a goal of 2 million new urban trees planted and reducing greenhouse gas emissions per person to zero. It also aims to increase transit use and focusing on “15-minute districts,” where people can complete daily shopping trips within their own neighbourhoods.
The results of the public feedback will be incorporated into a final draft, which will be presented to the city’s Urban Planning Committee in March 2020.
Feedback can be submitted on the city website.