OnTheAgenda

• City Council will meet on Wednesday at 9:30 am, and one of the items on the agenda is Administration's annual report on the grants, subsidies, rebates, and sponsorships the City gives to outside organizations. In 2025, the City provided $262.8 million to 1,351 recipients, up from $236.4 million in 2024 and $218.2 million in 2021. Of that, $137.0 million went to operating subsidies for 10 agencies, boards, and commissions, including the Edmonton Public Library, Explore Edmonton, and REACH Edmonton. Funding directed by Council outside the City's internal application and review process jumped from $7.4 million in 2024 to $20.1 million, including $10.6 million to Qualico for public spaces at the Station Lands site and $4.0 million to the Edmonton Ski Club for a new lodge. The totals leave out 130 below-market leases of City property to non-profits, which Administration estimates are worth about $40 million a year in rent subsidies, and Administration is recommending that the value of each individual lease stay private. The report also acknowledges that most funding arrangements still lack clearly identified outcome objectives, which limits the City's ability to judge whether the money is achieving its goals.
• Premier Danielle Smith announced that the Province will force Edmonton to repeal its zoning bylaw and return to the rules on housing types, density, and height that were in place before 2024. The City has three months to make the change and must also restore the minimum on-site parking requirements that were in place before 2020, followed by an 18-month review of its land-use bylaws. Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams said the directive will be formalized through a cabinet order in council and called the pace and scale of high-density infill in the city "too far, too fast." Since the bylaw took effect, the City has permitted 5,187 five- to eight-plexes in mature neighbourhoods, about 13% of all homes permitted. Mayor Andrew Knack argued the directive will make the city less affordable and drive up property taxes. He asked the Premier to pause it and said he will call an emergency Council meeting to assess what it means for the City. Knack estimated the directive will cost the City millions of dollars and pull staff time away from the finance team preparing budget documents for release on November 2nd.
• City Council voted 8-5 to raise the electricity franchise fee the City charges EPCOR from 17.65% to 19.4% of distribution charges, a cost that is passed on to customers' power bills. Ward 11 (Karhiio) Councillor Keren Tang moved the increase, which takes effect on January 1st, 2027, arguing that the fee is one of the City's limited ways to raise revenue and that 19.4% matches Calgary's rate. The Utility Committee had proposed the 20% maximum allowed by the Alberta Utilities Commission, which Administration estimated would raise a typical household's monthly franchise fee from $9.06 to $10.27 and bring in an extra $14.8 million in 2027. At that rate, Administration also estimated that post-secondary institutions could pay about $31,500 more per month on average and the largest businesses about $10,400 more. Councillors Erin Rutherford, Karen Principe, Thu Parmar, Michael Elliott, and Reed Clarke voted against the increase. Rutherford warned that it would add to the affordability challenges Edmontonians already face, while Elliott argued that a small monthly increase adds up over time.
• City Council received the process for its upcoming four-year budget deliberations, with draft budgets to be published on the City's website on November 2nd. Council is deciding on five budgets - capital, operating, the utility services operating and capital budgets, the Office of the City Auditor budget, and a climate budget presented for information only. Registration to speak at the November 23rd public hearing opens when the drafts are released and closes once the meeting begins. The hearing can then remain open for up to 10 days, until December 18th or until the budgets are approved, with proposed reductions voted on before increases. Mayor Andrew Knack said that because of affordability concerns, the next four-year budget has to be less than the current one, and that Council cannot have the same level of increases seen from 2023 to 2026. Administration is also trying to bring the financial stabilization reserve back to its required $150-million baseline.
• City Council voted 7-6 to keep the 25-cent fee businesses must charge for paper bags, defeating a motion to scrap the fee for fast-food bags. Ward 10 (Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi) Councillor Jon Morgan had proposed exempting restaurants at the Utility Committee on October 5th, arguing that the fee is unfair to customers, particularly at drive-throughs, and has done little to reduce waste. Ward 9 (pihêsiwin) Councillor Michael Elliott, who said he first raised the issue months ago, argued that the charge hurts seniors and others on fixed incomes who still eat out. Under the single-use item bylaw introduced in July 2023, businesses must charge at least 25 cents for a paper bag and $2 for a new reusable bag, and they keep the fees. Administration reports that single-use waste has dropped 30% since the bylaw took effect and that the number of disposable bags the average Edmontonian throws out at home has fallen 77%, though its data does not separate fast-food bags from grocery or retail bags. In a June 2026 survey of 196 restaurants, many said they were recovering costs or making a profit from the fees, while respondents also reported that customers were frustrated by them.

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ON THE AGENDA

Stephanie Swensrude

This week, council will discuss its autonomy, look at outcome reports from municipal funding, and consider several rezoning applications.

There is a public hearing on Oct. 13, a non-regular council meeting on Oct. 14, and a special city council meeting on Oct. 16.

Here are some key items on the agenda this week:

• Council will hold a special meeting on Oct. 16 to discuss the Oct. 8 directive from the provincial government ordering Edmonton to revert its zoning bylaw to parameters that were in place before 2024 and restore minimum parking requirements to where they were before 2020. Smith said at a news conference on Oct. 8 that the current bylaw has led to “irresponsible” infill development, pointing to multifamily complexes in neighbourhoods dominated by single-family homes. “Let me be clear — the goal should not simply be more housing, but more housing that is planned and integrated in a way that works for both existing residents as well as future families,” Smith said. The city has been given three months to amend its bylaw and 18 months to conduct a comprehensive review of its land-use bylaw. Mayor Andrew Knack urged the province to pause the directive, which he called “chaotic,” noting that it will result in higher taxes and reduced affordability. Knack told Ryan Jespersen the special council meeting is to see if council is in agreement about municipal autonomy: “I think we’ll need to have a clear discussion … do we want to make a public statement as a council on local autonomy?”
• Administration will report on the outcomes of $262.8 million provided to 1,351 recipients, including $137 million in operating subsidies to civic agencies, boards, and commissions, as well as $125.8 million supporting individuals and other external organizations. This is only the second year that the ABCs, individuals, and organizations have been required to report on outcomes, and many are still developing processes and performance measurements, the report said. Council-directed funding, which usually arises from a report to council, through advocacy by a non-profit, or as a solution to complex issues, nearly tripled from $7.4 million in 2024 to $20.1 million in 2025. This stream of funding does not go through the city’s internal program funding process to ensure consistency, accountability, equity, and transparency, administration said. More than $10 million of council-directed funding went to Qualico for its publicly accessible private spaces in its Station Lands development.
• A landowner has proposed rezoning a lot in Ritchie at 9905 80 Avenue NW from a direct control zone that allows for a 20-storey building to a standard zone that allows for a four-storey building. Administration said the proposed rezoning would facilitate new development in a primary corridor close to bus routes and bike networks.
• Administration said it does not support a rezoning application for a property that is partially in the boundary of the Westmount Architectural Heritage Area. The site at 11038 126 Street NW was consolidated from three separate lots, two of which were zoned for four-storey residential development with no architectural controls, and the third zoned for 2.5-storey residential development in line with the architectural controls of the Westmount area. Residents who oppose the rezoning said the heritage area is a historically significant area that should be preserved.
• BM Homes has proposed rezoning a property in McKernan at 11302 75 Avenue NW to allow for a three-storey residential building that is taller than what is currently allowed. Administration said it supports the application because the property is a corner lot near the McKernan-Belgravia LRT station and the 76 Avenue secondary corridor. Some residents oppose the rezoning because they believe infill properties are being used for lodging houses or short-term rentals, and that the development would increase pressure for on-street parking.
• Council will receive a private update from the city manager.

• The Audit Committee meets today at 9:30 am, and one of the items on the agenda is the City Auditor's review of how Edmonton runs its parking operations. The Parks and Roads Services Branch oversees about 6,000 parking spaces and collected roughly $13 million in parking revenue in 2025, at hourly rates running from $1.00 to $4.50. The auditor found the Branch has no Council-approved strategic vision and no performance management framework to guide its decisions, and no written guidance on how it sets rates, issues complimentary parking passes, discounts or waives fees during road closures, or restricts residential parking. In the absence of that guidance, the Branch has charged different rates in zones with comparable demand without documenting why, and does not have full oversight of the complimentary, discounted, and waived fees it grants. The auditor did conclude that the Branch is managing its parking payment app contract effectively, and made three recommendations in total.
• City Council holds a public hearing tomorrow at 9:30 am, and one of the 13 bylaws on the agenda would tighten Edmonton's rules for lodging houses, the dwellings where bedrooms are rented out one at a time. Administration wants the threshold lowered so that a dwelling with three or more individually rented bedrooms counts as a lodging house, down from four, and wants features such as individually numbered rooms, locks on bedroom doors, and locked storage in shared areas written into the definition to make enforcement easier. Lodging houses would be barred from row housing and multi-unit housing in the small scale residential zones and from row housing in the small-medium scale transition zone, with bedroom limits applied per lot rather than per site. The City logged 354 lodging house complaints between 2020 and 2025, 74 of them in 2025, and another 50 in the first seven months of this year. Council directed Administration to prepare the amendments on July 7th, and the bylaw can receive all three readings once the hearing closes, though passing it in a single meeting requires unanimous agreement. Community groups and housing non-profits consulted by the City described lodging houses as a vital source of low-cost and transitional housing for students, seniors, people with disabilities, and people moving in and out of supportive housing, while agreeing that enforcement of building codes and community standards is necessary. Renting a whole home to several tenants under one shared tenancy would not be affected.
• The Edmonton Police Commission has barred members of the public from speaking at its meetings for the rest of the year, and the remaining sessions will be held online. Commission Chair Ben Henderson says the decision followed three meetings in which public comment moved beyond criticism of the board and of police oversight into personal attacks, defamation, threats, and intimidation aimed at commissioners, police staff, and other members of the public. Residents can still watch the remaining meetings, set for September 17th, October 22nd, and November 19th, and the Commission will continue to accept written submissions related to its mandate. The Commission calls the suspension temporary and says it will review the decision before next year.
• Council will consider another $114.58 million worth of climate measures in Edmonton's next four-year budget deliberations, as Administration has put forward 27 actions costing $257 million in total. Councillors have also asked Administration to examine a revolving climate fund that would redirect a growing pot of $500,000 in annual energy savings into further projects, and added proposals to spend $5 million on community climate initiatives and $5 million on an Alberta Ecotrust Foundation endowment. Mayor Andrew Knack said it is far more costly to do nothing than to pay for preventative measures.
• Ward 8 (papastew) Councillor Michael Janz plans to bring a motion to Council that would charge developers a fee for every tree cut down while building new neighbourhoods on Edmonton's outskirts. Janz argues that the City currently pays to plant replacement trees elsewhere while developers keep the profit, and that applying the City's existing dollar assessments for removed trees to new development areas would produce millions of dollars worth of habitat value. He says the gap effectively subsidizes sprawl, and that it remains cheaper to build a cul-de-sac on the city's edge than to redevelop vacant downtown parking lots. The motion would not cover trees lost to infill, which a separate proposed bylaw may address. Mayor Andrew Knack has separately put forward a motion to require permits to remove trees from established lots inside the city, in response to concerns raised about infill developments.

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ON THE AGENDA

Mack Male

•   An audit of parking operations found the city lacks a clear council-approved vision and formal guidance for rates, discounts, and residential restrictions. Auditors also found unexplained rate differences between areas with similar demand and inconsistent guest-permit rules. The city manages about 6,000 parking spaces and collected about $13 million in parking revenue in 2025. Administration accepts all three recommendations and plans to address them through its parking program modernization. The parking app contract was generally well managed, but auditors identified gaps in cybersecurity communication, occupancy data, and access to vendor performance data. Enforcement and fines were outside the audit’s scope.
•   Council will consider zoning bylaw amendments that would lower the threshold for a lodging house from four individually rented bedrooms to three. Lodging houses would be prohibited in row and multi-unit housing in the small-scale residential and small-scale flex residential zones, as well as in secondary suites. In the small-medium scale transition residential zone, they would remain allowed in multi-unit housing, with a cap of 12 bedrooms per lot, but not in row housing. Administration says the changes would improve enforcement, though lodging houses can be difficult to identify before occupancy. Since the beginning of 2024, the city has approved 12 permits for new lodging houses with four to eight individually rented bedrooms. Consulted groups said lodging houses can provide affordable, flexible, and culturally relevant housing, while stressing tenant protections and property maintenance. Whole homes rented to multiple tenants under one shared tenancy would remain allowed.
•   Council will consider a rezoning at 11537 University Avenue NW in McKernan, across from the Cross Cancer Institute, to allow a building up to 16 metres tall, or about four storeys. The site is within 400 metres of the Health Sciences/Jubilee LRT station. Administration supports the application because it would allow more housing near transit, employment, and services. All 10 responses to the mailed notice opposed the application, raising concerns that included building scale, loss of sunlight and privacy, traffic, and parking.

Here are some more key items:

•   Council will resume its discussion of public engagement on the 2027-2030 budget and the city services and quality of life survey, after postponing both reports to Sept. 16. The budget engagement report found participants wanted a focus on core services but disagreed on what counts as core.
•   Council services committee will consider three options for the 2027 meeting calendar. One would retain the current structure; another would move executive committee to Mondays and public hearings to mid-week where possible; a third would replace 19 one-day public hearings with 11 two-day hearings. That model would require more Thursday and Friday meetings but create three additional recess days. The final calendar report will go to council’s Oct. 27 organizational meeting.
•   A city audit found that the municipal fleet maintenance program effectively manages maintenance to meet the needs of departments using more than 5,000 vehicles and pieces of equipment. Auditors found one area for improvement: There is no formal process to track feedback on parts suppliers, making recurring problems harder to identify across garages. Administration accepts the recommendation. The program supports vehicles such as snowplows, fire trucks, waste trucks, and DATS buses, but excludes conventional transit buses and LRT vehicles.
•   Audit committee will consider the Office of the City Auditor’s 2027-2030 operating budget, starting at about $3.14 million in 2027, down $111,000 from the adjusted 2026 budget. It would retain 17 full-time-equivalent positions throughout the four years. A separate follow-up report says administration has closed 10 audit recommendations since the last update, leaving 27 outstanding as of Aug. 27, including four that are overdue.
•   Administration will ask council to postpone the report on proposed active transportation network amendments to Dec. 8 to minimize service impacts for applicants at subsequent public hearings. Coun. Ashley Salvador’s motion seeking active transportation funding options and Coun. Thu Parmar’s proposal to examine shifting up to $220 million from neighbourhood renewal to arterial-road renewal remain listed as motions pending on the Sept. 8 selection sheet.
•   Council’s continuation also includes two postponed private discussions: one on public safety involving the Edmonton Police Service and peace officers, and another on an intergovernmental update concerning a provincial pre-budget submission and partnership opportunity.

And here are updates on some of the items we told you about last week:

•   Council gave first reading to the bylaw establishing a tax subclass for derelict non-residential properties. It still requires further readings. Council also passed all three readings of the bylaw expanding the derelict residential subclass citywide, with eligible properties to be included starting with January 2027 assessment notices.
•   Council approved funding for the Valley Line transition management office, supporting the transfer of Valley Line Southeast operations and maintenance from TransEd to the Edmonton Transit Service in 2027. The approved request includes about $7.7 million for the temporary office and $20.5 million for vehicles, tools, equipment, and operating systems for the expanding LRT network, funded from the LRT reserve. It excludes the payment to terminate the TransEd contract.
•   Council approved the updated climate resilience policy and committee recommendations on climate implementation priorities. The policy update adds adaptation targets and a sustainable return-on-investment threshold for new city buildings. New funding for climate actions will be considered through the 2027-2030 budget process.
•   Council approved the updated public art policy and committee recommendations on the heritage places strategy. The art update clarifies the basis for funding, including the collection’s maintenance needs. The heritage update broadens the city’s approach beyond built heritage to include natural, Indigenous, community, and cultural heritage.
•   Council approved committee recommendations on the snow and ice control policy, including requests for 2027-2030 budget options to improve school-zone clearing and continue assisted snow removal.
•   Following its review of the operating and capital financial updates, council voted 12-1 to request options for drawing down the Planning and Development Business Model reserve, along with any recommended changes to the related fiscal policy. Coun. Jon Morgan opposed the motion.
•   Council gave first reading to the municipal tax relief delegation amendment, which would let the city assessor delegate decisions to directors and managers. It also passed the bylaw repealing municipal historic designation for the Arlington Apartments, whose remaining walls were demolished in 2008 after a 2005 fire.

• The Infrastructure Committee will meet on Wednesday at 9:30 am, and one of the items on the agenda is a recommendation that would sharply scale back Edmonton's bike lane expansion. Administration is recommending that routes under the $100-million Active Transportation Network Expansion Program that have not yet started construction be removed from the program if they would affect travel lanes or parking, leaving 13 route packages to continue as planned and 14 others, including the contested Grovenor routes, to be re-evaluated only if money remains. Administration says the change responds to community pushback, with the program receiving over 1,000 email and phone inquiries since 2023 of which only about 2% were positive, and to new provincial legislation on municipal bike lane authority expected in late 2026 that could have significant impacts on current and planned bike lanes. About 35 kilometers of new routes were installed in 2024 and 2025, with another 24 kilometers estimated for completion this year. If the Committee agrees, the change goes to City Council for approval.
• On Wednesday at 9:30 am, the Infrastructure Committee will also receive the results of the City's call for partners to help build unfunded infrastructure projects. The City received 13 submissions containing 20 development ideas for the Woodcroft Library, the Cumberland and Big Lake fire stations, the Windermere North Transit Centre, and arenas across the city, with arena projects the most numerous and several proposals pitching mixed-use developments that combine civic facilities with residential or commercial space. Most submissions propose that the City provide land, sometimes for $1 or through a lease, along with capital support or ongoing lease payments. Administration cautions that privately financed projects still count against the City's debt limit, and that private financing typically costs more than the City's own borrowing rates through the province, so any partnership would require rigorous evaluation. The detailed proposals are being kept private to protect the business interests of the companies that submitted them.
• City Council voted 9-4 last Tuesday to have Administration study whether small scale infill housing is affecting the market value of nearby homes. Ward 3 (tastawiyiniwak) Councillor Karen Principe brought the motion after hearing from residents, saying some are concerned their property values are decreasing while others are seeing property taxes rise on the back of higher assessments. Ward 8 (papastew) Councillor Michael Janz tried unsuccessfully to have the findings delivered as a private memo to Council rather than a public report, arguing a public committee presentation would attract residents with preconceptions about infill. City staff cautioned the results may not be definitive, with the City's business operations director Stephen Leroux saying it may never be possible to say with certainty whether infill has raised or lowered values on a broad mass-appraisal basis. The public report is due at the Urban Planning Committee in the third quarter of 2027.
• Also last Tuesday, City Council unanimously passed a motion from Ward 11 (Karhiio) Councillor Keren Tang directing City staff to conduct a signal timing and optimization assessment of the southeast leg of the Valley Line LRT. The 13-kilometer line between downtown and Mill Woods has been operating for nearly three years, and multiple vehicles have collided with trains in that span. Tang says her constituents, drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike, blame confusing lights and signals at intersections, describing road users unsure of who has the right of way. The review comes as the City prepares to take over operation of the line from private operator TransEd. Tang argues that fixing the problems is vital to public acceptance of low-floor LRT, since whatever is learned will inform the Valley Line West as it approaches completion in the coming years.
• More than 40% of the entries in the top 50 complaint categories reported to Edmonton's 311 line in 2025 were related to parking, according to City data. Abandoned vehicles topped the list with 20,570 reports, followed by a catch-all parking safety category at 19,646 and parking on private property at 5,451. City bylaw officers issued 114,059 parking tickets last year, worth at least $5.7 million in fines, though just 986 of those tickets were for abandoned vehicles, the single largest source of complaints. The City's superintendent of parking enforcement attributes part of the backlog to losing access to a tow lot off Yellowhead Trail for almost a year, and expects abandoned vehicle reports to fall now that 150 impound spaces have opened. Ward 6 (Métis) Councillor Ashley Salvador is asking Administration what it would cost to assign more bylaw officers to parking enforcement and whether fine amounts are an adequate deterrent, with a report due to a Council committee on August 31st.

ONTHEAGENDA ONTHEAGENDA ONTHEAGENDA ONTHEAGENDA

Stephanie Swensrude

This week, councillors are set to discuss a pause on future bike lanes that take away parking or travel lanes, amendments to the city’s climate resilience policy, and early designs for the Low Level Bridge replacement.

There is a utility committee meeting on Aug. 24, a public hearing on Aug. 25, and an infrastructure committee meeting on Aug. 26.

Here are some key items on the agenda this week:

• Administration has proposed pausing planned active transportation infrastructure that takes away parking spaces or vehicle travel lanes because of expected provincial legislation, as well as community pushback. A report due at infrastructure committee said that because the previous council chose the “rapid” approach to building bike lanes and other active transportation infrastructure, public engagement was limited and adaptable infrastructure was often used. The report said this has garnered significant negative feedback and pointed specifically to the recent decision to redesign infrastructure on 50 Street. The new design — retaining parking and vehicle travel lanes — costs about double the initial construction costs. Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen spoke to residents in Capilano about that project in July. Dreeshen applauded a recent Ontario court decision that overturned an earlier ruling that stopped the provincial government from replacing protected bike lanes with car lanes in Toronto. “The appeal court made clear that governments have the authority to make and change transportation policy and that there is no constitutional right to a bike lane,” Dreeshen wrote. Though the provincial legislation limiting active transportation infrastructure doesn’t yet exist, the city report said making a proactive decision could help mitigate legal implications, which will be discussed in camera. The change in direction requires council approval; infrastructure committee is expected to give a recommendation to council, which will make the final decision at a future meeting. Additionally, administration is in the process of updating the Active Transportation Implementation Guide, which will be presented to council before the four-year budget deliberations. Administration has already cancelled planned infrastructure in Grovenor. That project didn’t involve separated bike lanes, but rather traffic calming features and reduced parking.
• Administration has prepared amendments to the climate resilience policy that incorporate the optimal point for capital investment that yields the best return for taxpayers when considering economic, environmental, and social benefits. The proposed change introduces a sustainable return on investment (S-ROI) analysis, meaning that projects would incorporate climate-resilient requirements to a point where a positive S-ROI is demonstrated, the report said. While this responds to financial constraints, it could also result in reduced environmental outcomes, meaning alternative solutions may be required to meet the city’s emissions targets, administration said. The policy update also includes a new community adaptation target, which would combine data across multiple climate hazards to provide a measurable, citywide view of risk related to climate change. This work involves tracking the climate risk and adaptation of individual neighbourhoods. Fifty-seven neighbourhoods have a high or very high climate risk, and administration aims to reduce that number to zero by 2050. Infrastructure committee will review the changes before council makes the final decision at a future meeting.
• Administration has released its preliminary plans for replacing the Low Level Bridge. A report set to be presented at infrastructure committee said that the city will likely build a functional roadway bridge rather than a “signature” structure. The report added that the initial traffic analysis suggested the replacement may need more than four lanes, but to align with city goals of reducing the number of people who use cars to meet their daily needs, a four-lane bridge will be considered. The alignment is expected to be to the west of the existing bridge. Administration had initially said the Low Level Bridge replacement project could involve simplifying the road network surrounding the bridge, as well as daylighting Mill Creek. However, this report says the replacement can be done without reconfiguring the road system. Public engagement will begin in the fall; the report notes that there are “no immediate risks when moving forward with only the Low Level Bridge replacement work at this time.” Starting in 2027, the northbound bridge is expected to close for a construction season for repairs, and administration will create the preliminary design for the replacement bridge. Construction is expected to take place from 2029 to 2031. The following year, the southbound bridge is expected to be decommissioned and the northbound one converted to active transportation.