Infill Resistance in Full Swing
Edmonton News agencies including the Edmonton Sun, Global News, and the Edmonton Journal are reporting on recent community resistance towards the City of Edmonton’s infill project.
The ambitious project had been relatively well received by Edmonton residents, contractors, and particularly newcomers desperate to find residence amongst the city’s ever increasing population spike.
The project encourages the construction of new residences on existing properties, such as duplexes, the addition of rental units over garages, and basement suites. This will allow a population expansion in Edmonton, which does not see signs of slowing down, without the often associated sprawl of suburban communities. To encourage development, the city has been particularly lax on approval policies related to the former bureaucratic red tape of the projects.
Rumblings are beginning to be heard from homeowners, who are now organizing to voice their concerns. Of particular note is the message board website EdmontonLotSubdivision.com which has been active since early last fall but is picking up momentum. Of the largest concern to homeowners is the lack of an appeal process. Citizens are looking towards their city councillors and MLA’s in hope of some response. Says Westbrook community member Darren Jackinsky,
“Fundamentally, it’s that it’s been forced on people and that there’s no structure in place to appeal an approval of a subdivision.” He goes on to explain the difficulty in voicing homeowner dissatisfaction, “we’ve so far been told essentially by the MLAs that it’s a city issue — talk to your councilors — and the city is saying talk to your MLA, it’s a provincial government issue.”
According to Edmonton Journal reports concerns arose because “the appeal process exists for developments on already split properties and for subdivisions that are denied, but not for the subdivisions themselves.”
The latest vocal outcry is coming from the residents of Rio Terrace. A 500 signature petition and 100 letters were submitted in opposition of a split-lot skinny house proposal, believing the development would not to suit the aesthetic design of the neighborhood.
City Councilor Michael Oshry, a proponent of the project, is dedicated to working with residents to clear up misconceptions while maintaining momentum. He believes misinformation has led to recent outcries,
“I’m happy to listen to them, but I do think a lot of the supposed support for no infill is based on information that either people don’t know, or people have misunderstood, or even been misled on occasion…I think these are people that are just concerned about what they think is going to be a dramatic change to their neighbourhood. And I think what they don’t appreciate is what actually is going to be built there.”
Oshry has explained that in the instance of Rio Terrace, lots are 22 meters wide, meaning a split lot is still not so small to reasonably necessitate a house. Additionally, replacing a single, aging, bungalow with two higher value homes positively impacts the value of neighboring properties. The City sees the project as a win-win for communities.
Oshry concludes, “At the end of the day, in my view, I don’t think it’s going to make one iota of difference. You’re going to end up with two homes with two nice families living in a nice neighbourhood.”
