WEEKLY UPDATE - OCT 7
Welcome back to the weekly wrap up! Last week was a big week for City Council. Thanks to everyone who reached out or came to Public Hearing to share their thoughts.
At Public Hearing, we heard the rezoning for Jasper House for a new 31 story apartment building on the existing surface parking lot. We heard a number of important concerns about construction traffic and slope stability in the area, which I asked City staff about. I learned that construction management plans will be required, and about the extensive due diligence done to ensure slope stability. With these concerns addressed, I voted to support the rezoning. I look forward to this building bringing new neighbours and businesses to the area.
Land use was also on the agenda at Council where we gave final approval to District Plans. I supported a motion to add greater clarity and opportunity to the plans, which will return in 2026. In the meantime, I look forward to the Plans helping us implement our City Plan goals!
The City's response to encampments was a central topic. I moved a successful motion to provide more public information on how our responses function. Greater clarity on how camps are triaged helps residents and neighbours understand when and why removals happen. I also asked City staff to make changes to our responses in extreme weather. When people are unwilling or unable to go to shelter in -20C, we're faced with a difficult dilemma.
Do we leave people in unsafe encampment conditions, or do we potentially make them more vulnerable by removing what little shelter they do have? This is an incredibly challenging situation and there are no perfect answers. My motion asks City staff to engage with those living and working with individuals in encampments so that we can better understand the best approach to take. I look forward to these changes coming forward so that we can refine our encampment response further.
Ultimately, the only successful response will be the housing and health supports that are so desperately needed. My City Council colleagues and I will continue calling on the Provincial and Federal governments to do just that. We are past the point of urgency and action is needed now.
Community safety was also at Council as we took an important step in addressing a pressing issue - the sale of knives at convenience stores. I was glad we could move forward with implementing changes to our Business Licence Bylaw, providing EPS with another tool to address safety in our communities.
A final highlight was an update on the City’s Derelict Property subclass. Introduced this year, it triples the cost of property tax for derelict properties. I've been impressed with the impact it's already had, with a number of unsightly properties being demolished. The report outlined a change that will provide even greater incentive for owners to pull down the buildings as soon as possible. The additional taxes will now be prorated to the demolition date, meaning that the sooner a property owner demolishes, the more money they save. I look forward to this new policy continuing to help keep our communities safe and attractive.
That’s all for this week. I hope you all have a good Thanksgiving and I'll have another update for you after the long weekend!
