WEEKLY UPDATE - OCT 11

Welcome back to the weekly wrap up! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. Last week saw some important updates and decisions at Edmonton City Council.

I was thrilled to support the bylaw that will introduce higher taxes for derelict homes. These properties have a significant negative impact on our communities and the new bylaw will provide a financial incentive for owners to clean them up. The changes go into effect January 1, 2024, and City staff will be working with affected property owners to communicate the changes. I'm hopeful that we'll start to see a reduction of these homes in our communities.

Council also heard about the winter homelessness response. The commitment of 1700 shelter beds from the Province is very welcome. Not only will these provide much needed space for those experiencing homelessness, it will relieve pressure on other residents and businesses.

We also reviewed the range of services the City will be offering to support those experiencing homelessness this winter, including $4m to increase day shelter spaces and transportation options so people can access shelter and services.

Another big decision was to introduce a program to provide relief to businesses who are impacted by major, multi-year infrastructure projects. I was pleased to support moving forward with this work as a way to support small businesses to thrive, even during disruption.

That was all for last week. Next week is a big one as we undertake the public hearing on the proposed new Zoning Bylaw! This will run from Monday to Wednesday - if you'd like to add your voice to the conversation, sign up to speak here: https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/urban_planning_and_design/zoning-bylaw-renewal