WEEKLY UPDATE - JUNE 17

Welcome back to the Weekly Wrap Up! It was a busy week at Council.

At Public Hearing, we made some exciting zoning changes that will help streamline office conversions in the downtown. By removing barriers to repurposing buildings, we've helped make it easier for those investing in our core.

There was also a rezoning on a unique lot in Boyle Street. We were able to add some provisions to the direct control zone to address some neighbourhood concerns and I look forward to this addition to the neighbourhood.

We also approved a rezoning in support of Hope Mission's new shelter in the west end. It's great to see these needed services being provided in all areas of the city and I'm glad that there will be space for a range of wraparound services on site.

At City Council, we received our quarterly transit safety update and saw some encouraging numbers: ridership is up, crime severity down, and perception of safety is up! There is a lot of work going into those results, so a big thank you to all our staff and agency partners. While we're headed in the right direction, there's still much more work to do. I look forward to the work that City staff are doing to make the most of our safety resources and continue to refine our response to ensure a safer Edmonton for everyone.

We also had our spring capital budget adjustment. I was proud to support the changes that saw investments to keep core services running smoothly, buy new buses, and build more affordable housing - and all of this without raising taxes! Prudent prioritisation by City staff and $170m in federal Housing Accelerator Funds were a huge part of making this possible and I'm grateful to everyone who worked on these changes.

That's all for last week, be sure to tune in next Monday!