Zoning overhaul will help meet growing demand for housing in Edmonton, developers say

Proposed zoning changes with the potential to significantly alter the look of Edmonton's mature neighbourhoods are a big improvement over existing rules, say players in the city's development community.

Developers say it's a matter of moving on from an "archaic" system that's hampering the kind of development Edmontonians already want.

City council is nearing the end of a years-long process to comprehensively overhaul rules about what can be built in Edmonton, and where. It's the first time since the 1960s that changes of this scale have been considered — among them, city-wide rezoning that would allow development up to three storeys across residential areas.

In June, as a council committee began a meeting dedicated to the zoning review — it would go on for 12 hours — several speakers from the development industry were among the first in line to express their support for the changes.

Some developers raised questions, noting that the new rules aren't perfect, but agreeing they wanted the reforms to go ahead.

On the other side of the debate, a group calling itself Coalition for Better Infill has been dropping pamphlets into mailboxes, accusing the city of "giving too much to developers and getting too little in return," with industry driving the changes to the detriment of input from residents.

The city has been gathering public feedback on the zoning renewal since 2018.

Home builders and developers say they just want a straightforward process for building density into mature neighbourhoods, as is called for in Edmonton's City Plan. 

Approved by council in 2020, the plan imagines a more dense, environmentally friendly urban space as Edmonton grows toward a population of two million.

"I can't suggest that it's not good for developers, because it is," Melcor Developments regional manager Michaela Davis told CBC News.

"But it's good for everybody because it allows housing to come on faster — the type of housing we're already building, that Edmontonians want."

Davis and other developers say that in its current state, the city's building rule book can be too rigid.

For example, if there are plans to build townhouses in a neighbourhood where zoning allows them, design details that deviate from set criteria can force a builder to pursue approval via direct control (DC) zoning instead.

DC is essentially a tailor-made zone, and going through that process can add a year or more to permit and building timelines.