WEEKLY UPDATES - FEB 27
Welcome back to the weekly wrap up! Last week was a busy one at Edmonton City Council!
The bylaw to permanently close 102 Avenue to vehicle traffic was before us at Public Hearing. We heard from downtown stakeholders both in support and opposed to the closure. I had put forward a motion to postpone a decision on this matter until 6 months after the LRT starts operations. I felt this would give us a chance to see the impact of allowing vehicles on the street and also see how 102 Avenue worked as a multi-modal corridor. I was disappointed that this motion didn't pass but I'm pleased that City staff will still be returning with a report 6 months after LRT opening so that we can assess how all users' needs are being met along 102 Avenue. I hope that this corridor can continue to evolve over time.
I was delighted that my motion to phase out the ‘Other Residential’ tax subclass passed at Council. The old rules led to unfair outcomes, for example two identical buildings paying different taxes because one was a condo and the other was an apartment. This policy worked against our City Plan goals to create more compact communities and housing choice. Aligning our tax code with our priorities is a big step in building a more sustainable city and I'm grateful that we've started on that path. By phasing out the Other Residential subclass over the next 5 years, the impact will be $2 for every $100k of assessed value, less than a dollar a month for those with a house worth $500k. While not without a cost, the value in building a more sustainable city is huge.
Another exciting decision this week was on vehicle noise enforcement! City Council approved increasing fines for noisy vehicles to $1000 for a first infraction, and $2000 for additional infractions. I'm hopeful this will start to move us towards quieter streets for all.
On the Police Commission front, some of you may be aware of a video related to an EPS arrest on February 22nd. The investigation into the incident is with ASIRT who will determine whether a criminal offence was committed. After the ASIRT investigation is concluded, the Edmonton Police Service will conduct an internal assessment of the actions of the officers involved. As a Commissioner, I think it's important to understand what steps led to reporting this incident to the Director of Law Enforcement and I will be following up on this at our next Commission meeting.
That’s all for last week, see you again next Monday!
