Northwest Edmonton senior ready to chain herself to tree to stop infill project
Posted December 16, 2025 4:01 pm.
Last Updated December 16, 2025 6:30 pm.
Frustration with infill is reaching new heights in Edmonton’s Dovercourt neighbourhood.
Constance Williams, who lives near infill development, says she’s prepared to chain herself to a tree to stop an empty home from being torn down and turned into an infill eight-plex.
“I grew up in the ‘60s and when people got upset enough, that’s what they did,” Williams said.
Williams, who has lived in Dovercourt for nearly 70 years, lives two doors down from the empty home. She believes the cul-de-sac can’t handle an influx of more people or vehicles.
“Once all these cars get parked in here, if there’s a fire engine, the fire engine’s going to have drive across the park, because there’s just no way to get in,” Williams said. “Four lovely townhomes, with yards with families for here, affordably priced, would be perfect for this — because it’s a big lot.”
She says residents have already exhausted the appeals process.
As of Tuesday afternoon, crews had not shown up and Williams hadn’t chained herself up yet.
The councillor for the area, Erin Rutherford, met with neighbours just days ago. She told CityNews while she hears residents’ concerns, it’s too late for this project, which meets all the requirements of current bylaws.
Rutherford adds she will consider the feedback when councillors have the chance to make changes to zoning in mature neighbourhoods in February.
“We hear the concerns about massing, we hear the concerns about traffic, so those are all things that I’ve been taking in, having these small community meetings, as I always have and will continue to do, to gain the feedback,” said the councillor for Ward Anirniq.
No parking spaces
Oakland Valleau, who lives two doors down on the other side from the house slated for demolition, tells CityNews he works for a company that builds infill homes.
“A lot of these houses, they’re getting built with no additional parking, and that’s a concern to a lot of the residents — I see that for sure,” Valleau said.
While he understands his neighbours’ frustrations, he believes infill provides important housing options for Edmontonians in older neighbourhoods.
“We’re making nice homes for people, that are happy to have a place in a nice neighbourhood like this, so they’re pretty positive about it,” he said. “To me, it wouldn’t bother me.”
The developer of the property, Franken Homes, confirmed to CityNews an eight-unit infill housing project will be built, but declined to comment otherwise.
