MEETING DATE : AGENDA ITEM # : PREPARED BY:

January 12, 2012 David Dodge, EFCL President & District B Director

Item 9.3

9.3 EFCL Letter to Mayor and Council Regarding Infill Guidelines

December 9, 2011 Dear Mayor Mandel and City Councillors, RE: Implementation of Residential Infill Guidelines The Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues would like to encourage Council to follow the Infill Guidelines when making rezoning decisions in mature neighbourhoods, particularly when the neighbourhood does not have an Area Redevelopment Plan. Without the implementation of a consistent planning framework, either using Guidelines or updated Area Redevelopment Plans, redevelopment of Edmonton will occur on a site by site, ad hoc basis, resulting in uncertainty for residents and housing developers alike. This uncertainty leads to frustration, fatigue, and additional costs. We often hear about the costs to developers, but there are additional costs to individual community volunteers and to Community Leagues. If Community Leagues are not confident that City Council will follow the Residential Infill Guidelines then the Community League must attend to every rezoning application proposal. Community League volunteers must spend many hours soliciting opinions of their community residents, organizing meetings, negotiating with the city, and often taking holiday time to present at City Council. It is not surprising when community volunteers just give up. This happens too often. Even writing a letter of support or nonsupport may seem overwhelming in a short time frame, and may seem unnecessary when there is a clear city policy to direct rezoning decisions. The rezoning application in Jasper Park, which you are considering on December 14th, is a good example of a situation in which the Residential Infill Guidelines give clear direction to City Administration, Council, the developer and the community. It is in the best interest of everyone to create a climate of certainty. Please follow the Residential Infill Guidelines. Sincerely,

David Dodge President Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues

EFCL Board Meeting Package

January 12, 2012

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