Infill, traffic, trust and dialogue: thoughts after our first public hearing

Edmonton’s new 2021 City Council

We made it through this Council's very first statutory public hearing on Tuesday (November 23, 2021). It started at 1:30pm and ended at 10pm. We approved nearly every zoning bylaw change to increase density and implement our vision for diverse housing options and the City Plan. We heard from various voices - developers, residents, local schools, and asked lots and lots of questions.

While the narrative of densification has evolved over time, much of the feedback especially around infill development in mature neighbourhoods is reminiscent of many of the conversations I had at the doors during my 2017 election campaign — when mature, post-war neighbourhoods were part of the ward (with the boundary change, they've been left outside of Ward Karhiio). Issues around neighbourhood character and traffic concerns were common threads throughout the hearing. What continues to be lacking is the bridge building and co-creation opportunity that I've always wanted to see more of.

These public hearings are required under the MGA (Municipal Government Act). But I can't help but wonder if our processes and structures simply perpetuate divisiveness over infill development (and development overall), and continue to erode public trust in industry and institutions. Trust and confidence and accountability came up a lot. As one speaker pointed out, they were only able to pick either “oppose” or “in favour” and nothing in between. And that was the dynamic for much of the conversation. In fact, I think concerns like traffic congestion can be resolved through other means and municipal tools, yet because the format of the public hearing is for land-use decision only, we were limited in how much we can explore these other pathways that can be more proactive and anticipatory to alleviate frustrations and concerns ahead of time before we get to this very binary state.

Because of the legislative requirements, we're stuck with these public hearings and formats for now. But I'd certainly like to see and work towards more collaborative, relationship and trust-based dialogues that bring different voices together rather than pushing them apart. This is after all, a big reason for me tossing my name in the ring. I believe we need to use participatory engagement to bring community perspectives to life and to build our city together, so that our children and their children will choose to live in and contribute to the neighbourhoods that we build today.

Public hearing for the budget starts on Monday November 29. To register to speak, please sign-up here. You can participate in person or remotely.