A Plan for Responsible Infill and Growth
It’s no secret: The housing crisis is real.
We must build more homes to stay ahead, ensuring affordability and housing options instead of only growth in new areas that will drive up costs.
Infill already provides flexible housing choices. However, more work is needed to increase housing choices for families and seniors in mature neighbourhoods, to ensure new homes are designed appropriately for everyone in the community.
We can welcome more neighbours while preserving what we love most about our neighbourhoods. To do this, we must take leadership and enforce the rules that hold builders accountable.
My plan for Responsible Infill and Growth will:
Strengthen infill compliance by establishing a centralized compliance team under the Construction Accountability Program with more enforcement resources, requiring annual reviews to Council to ensure transparency and improvement.
Protect mature trees, character, and heritage of neighbourhoods by introducing a new bylaw to protect mature trees on infill sites and implement and strengthen the Heritage Places Strategy to preserve Edmonton’s neighbourhood character.
Make zoning more family and senior-friendly by working with seniors, families, and builders to remove barriers to affordable, accessible housing. This includes encouraging three-bedroom units, cluster housing, and new housing models that let seniors age in place.
Redevelop vacant lots and derelict properties by expanding the tools we have to prevent derelict and problem properties, and better supporting redevelopment of vacant and derelict lots into new homes.
This is a balanced plan for growth that expands housing choice and affordability while protecting our trees, our heritage, and the character of our most unique neighbourhoods.
It makes sure infill benefits everyone and creates a more affordable city for all Edmontonians.
Policy details
Maintain affordability
Maintain housing affordability in Edmonton by ensuring there are diverse housing types with access to amenities in all neighbourhoods without sacrificing the liveability of our communities.
Support responsible infill and growth, including reducing mid-block multiplexes to a maximum of six units.
Protect Mature Trees
Protect our urban forest by advancing a bylaw to protect mature trees on infill sites to maintain the character of mature neighbourhoods.
Encourage builders to keep trees whenever possible.
Strengthen compliance
Ensure developers of row houses comply with landscaping requirements. Support the implementation of a landscaping deposit (Small Scale Residential Landscape Securities program) in the Small Scale Residential Zone.
Make infill compliance stronger, simpler, and more responsive to Edmontonians.
Support the roll out and enhancement of the Construction Accountability Program.
Support a centralized and coordinated compliance team to get the most of our resources and provide consistent service to Edmontonians.
Include an annual review to Council to continuously improve the program and hear from Edmontonians.
Increase resources to support enhanced enforcement for builders who are not following the rules.
Preserve character of neighbourhoods
Preserve Edmonton's history by working to implement and strengthen the Heritage Places Strategy.
Work with property owners to protect more heritage homes, preserving neighbourhood character.
Build more family-friendly homes
Encourage senior-friendly infill that is affordable, accessible, and connected to the community.
Engage with seniors and the building industry to identify and remove roadblocks to aging in mature communities, and develop guidance for underdeveloped senior-friendly forms such as cluster housing.
Encourage family-friendly infill.
Encourage three-plus bedroom units, point access blocks, and cluster housing through design guides.
Explore options to incent three-plus bedroom units through the Zoning Bylaw Review.
Engage with the building industry and Edmontonians on additional forms of infill that meet Edmonton's housing needs, and explore ways to support those forms, such as standardized designs and incentives.
Address more derelict properties and vacant land.
Support the expansion of the Derelict Properties tax subclass to the entire redeveloping area.
Discourage vacant lots from creating problems in our neighbourhoods. Support the creation of a vacant land tax and explore tools and incentives to encourage the development of vacant land.
