More housing density debate at Edmonton city council
Posted June 30, 2025 4:07 pm.
Last Updated June 30, 2025 7:28 pm.
How would you like to have an eight-unit apartment next to your home? Edmonton city council is having second thoughts about approving that dramatic change in zoning after pushback from several neighborhoods.
“Personally, for my neighbourhood — Greenfield– we could accept four units total on our sites, but that’s not for everybody, so it really is when you get to that neighbourhood scale, what are people looking at for density?” said Morgan Wallace.
It was a full house at Edmonton City Council Chambers on Monday, as Edmontonians voiced their opinions on increased housing density in Edmonton’s older neighbourhoods. Councillors are looking at amendments that would control how many units and what types of housing can be built where in the city.
Wallace says she’s not against housing density in general, but says a year after rezoning was approved, it’s been a free-for-all, causing her and others to lose faith in city leaders.
“I think they’ve lost a lot of trust with people that are voicing their concerns and not feeling like they’ve been heard,” said Wallace.
Councillor and mayoral candidate Tim Cartmell wants a complete pause on infill development until city leaders can consult with voters before this fall’s election. However, other councillors claim the city doesn’t cannot legally halt infill.
“Well, I think we’ll let legal decide on that. I think from what I’ve heard, people would like to see a pause on these mid-neighbourhood, mid-block monoliths,” said Cartmell.
Councillor Michael Janz is looking to make a small concession to those against infill. He wants to limit the number of units for infill housing, in the middle of a neighbourhood street, to six, down from eight.
“Whether you’re for infill or against infill, I think, everyone can look at what we’re addressing here and say, ‘Yeah, we all want to see a higher degree of architecture, we all want to see more windows for basement suites.’ There’s all kinds of things that are happening here that I think are really sensible,” said Janz.
