Investors in limbo as Edmonton mayor cautions premier's infill edict will cost jobs

Edmonton and Calgary have been given marching orders by Municipal Affairs Minister Don Williams on how to proceed with zoning and land use bylaws.

On Thursday, an order in council was published online spelling out the premier’s directions.

Under the order, Edmonton has three months from Oct. 22 to amend its zoning bylaw to revert to what is now classified as residential small scale (RS) to fit the parking requirements, sizing and density limits under the previous zoning bylaw which was in effect until Dec. 31, 2023. Council will then have 18 months to draft a new zoning bylaw which must meet the expectations of the minister.

Calgary, in turn, is ordered to re-instate its low-density residential districts within three months. Calgary city council has until Sept. 1 to write a new land-use bylaw which also must adhere to the minister’s demands.

With the city about to begin its four-year budget deliberation cycle, Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack said the uncertainty threatens small businesses in the construction sector.

“It will create real harm,” he said. “We need to talk about Edmontonians who need affordable housing.

“They need to understand what their specific decisions do to all those voices.”

Knack said council would discuss the order and the next steps at the next Tuesday’s meeting.

He confirmed he would be meeting with Premier Danielle Smith later in the month.

“I want to chat with her about what a respectful relationship looks like,” he said. “I want to have trust that there is mutual respect and the behaviour on the infill issue suggests to me there isn’t.”

While Alberta’s two largest municipal economies scramble to meet the premier’s edict, several business-owners are watching their investments go up in smoke.

Synergy Capital group manager Akith Dissanayake told Postmedia upwards of 15 of his clients have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars going through the city’s permitting process, which could now be a sunk cost.

“A lot of our clients purchased land and are in the process of getting drawings to apply for permits and this came out of left lane,” he said. “Now they’re worried if the city is going to not take any more applications or if they’re going to adhere to the three-month time frame the province gave them.

“These clients put a lot of money into developing a lot with the plans based on what was approved for zoning. So there’s a bit of panic going on because no one knows what’s going to happen.”

Dissanayake said clients waiting on engineering reports are now facing uncertainty — which is already scaring away further investment.

He added many of his clients used personal savings with the intent of making their money back once they got to shovels in the ground. The uncertainty trickles down too — if a planned infill development falls through that means potentially less work for framers, plumbers, electricians and other tradespersons.

“People don’t realize that infill was employing a lot of people,” said Dissanayake. “All the sub-trades, the professional services, that’s all going to get affected.”

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