WEEKLY UPDATE - JUNE 24

Welcome back to the Weekly Wrap Up! There was lots on our agendas at Committees last week.

At Community Services, we received an update on the Corporate Homelessness Plan, and how we can focus our efforts on the three categories of work core to ending homelessness in Edmonton: prevention, housing, and response to safety and wellbeing concerns. There is still a lot of work to do, and coordination between all levels of government to ensure we’re providing the right mix of supportive housing, shelter spaces, and health services to address houselessness is essential.

At Urban Planning, I made a motion to pause the roll out of the new Residential Parking Program and have staff come back with refinements based on community input. I’m grateful for everyone who shared their perspectives - this feedback will help us get to a better outcome.

At Executive Committee, we reviewed our Industrial Investment Action Plan. Non-residential properties make up a substantial portion of Edmonton’s property tax revenues, so strong growth in our industrial and retail sector is critical to City finances. The Edmonton region has been growing over the last decade, but we are not seeing as much of the industrial and commercial growth happening in Edmonton proper. Having a plan to attract, retain, and grow businesses in Edmonton will be important for our future.

The balance of residential and non-residential development in our city is tied into another important topic we discussed - substantial completion. This is a question of how we phase growth in our suburban neighbourhoods. I look forward to further conversation about substantial completion at Council next week. My focus will be finding a way forward that ensures financial sustainability for the City and complete communities for Edmontonians.

That’s all for this week! No further comment so as to not jinx the outcome of any event that may or may not be happening this evening. Enjoy the festivities!