The Most Important Public Hearing This Year

On June 30, City Council considers gutting the housing progress we have made. We cannot go back to the era of exclusionary zoning. Read our blog post, use our tool to send an email, and sign up to speak.
Eric Cameracci
A rowhouse in McKernan

On June 30th, there will be a public hearing evaluating the effects of the Zoning By-law Renewal (ZBR) changes that only came into effect on Jan 1, 2024. These changes consist of the following rollbacks on the progress made, including:

  • A motion by Councillor Michael Janz to downzone wide swaths of Edmonton by reducing the maximum number of units allowed on an interior lot from 8 to 6. This is a last-minute motion made only on June 17, with no prior notice or study.

  • Further limitations to where small-medium scale residential (RSM) can be located

  • Cuts, limits and various design changes to the small scale residential (RS) changes that will shrink the size of allowed buildings (More detailed information at the end of the post)

  • If approved, these changes will come into effect immediately

The most egregious change is a motion by Michael Janz to limit the number of units in mid-block builds from 8 to 6 units, filed last minute on June 17. This is a step back. It's simple: reducing the amount of homes allowed on a lot will kill off projects entirely, not even allowing them to start. Edmonton leads the country in affordability, and the way that’s been maintained is by having more housing available than other comparable cities.

It's not only about housing affordability. Everything we've worked for could vanish in a few weeks. Our efforts to stop sprawl, build complete communities, and give people housing choice are at risk. Council is listening to rich homeowners in mature neighbourhoods instead of students, youth, those priced out to the suburbs, and anyone who wants good city services.

Don't be fooled: the rollbacks won't stop at 6 units. If you listen in to city council, you will quickly realize that the people speaking in opposition won't be satisfied with this change. This is just the start. It will be a ratchet that keeps turning until we're back at single-family zoning. At some point, our elected leaders have to actually lead and stand up for good evidence-based policy.

We need your help to defend housing progress. Use our tool below to email council with your support for 8 units. Most importantly, please sign up to speak at the public hearing. We have a dedicated page with instructions and what to expect. Feel free to contact us directly for more information.

Email Your Councillor

Further Detailed Information

  • Small-medium scale zoning, or RSM, is residential development up to 3 or 4 storeys in height, in the form of row housing and multi-unit Housing
  • Small scale zoning, or RS, is residential development up to 3 storeys in height, including detached, attached, and multi-unit residential housing
  • Bylaw 21214 - To amend bylaw 24000, Amendments to the RSM zone:
    • Limit rezoning of mid-block RS to RSM to only inside node and corridor areas (amended policy 2.5.2.6)
    • Limit RSM rezoning outside of node and corridor areas to only corner lots (new policy 2.5.2.5)
    • Prevent mid-block RSMh12 rezoning proposals from being considered for additional scale outside a node and corridor area (amended policy 2.5.2.7)
  • Bylaw 21202 - To amend bylaw 20001, The ZBR One Year Review:
    • Reduce maximum number of units on interior lots from 8 to 6.
    • Interior building length to 50% lot size or 25 m, whichever is smaller, and only for mid-block, down from 30 m
    • Facades facing a street or the side lot line of a site in a residential zone for row housing and multi-unit housing must be articulated using two or more design techniques
    • Row house dwellings adjacent to a front lot line must include a covered main entrance door that faces the street and have windows covering a minimum of 15 per cent of the street-facing facade area.
    • Limit side entrances to 2, to address concerns about appearance and activity around row houses
    • Increase interior side setback of row housing from 1.5 m to 1.9 m, for row housing and multi-unit housing with side entrances
    • For row housing require a minimum 1.1 m distance between steps and the interior side lot line where steps are oriented toward the side lot line. This is to address side entrance concerns. This change would also apply to other zones.
    • Changes, if approved, would come into effect immediately, and would apply to applications still under review.