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Edmonton is set to implement a new proposed zoning bylaw that would be the city’s first significant overhaul since 1961.  

The new zoning bylaw, if passed, would reduce the number of standard zones from the current 46 to 24. City staff suggested zone reduction will allow greater flexibility in building types and use combinations, streamline the permitting process and reduce the number of rezonings going forward.

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Ahead of city council’s public hearing next Monday to discuss the proposed bylaw, here’s a refresher on what the new bylaw will mean for Edmontonians.

Renewing the zoning bylaw is part of the long-term City Plan to be more imaginative of the future of Edmonton, which includes thriving urban development as the city moves towards a population of two million.

The current bylaw which was adopted in 2001 no longer meets the needs of the city, according to staff. With the last significant overhaul completed 60 years ago, the “outdated regulations” may create obstacles that will obstruct land development, incur cost and time to development and put a strain on government resources.

The plan could change the entire city by upzoning many residential pockets of land. According to a report by city staff, consolidating the current 16 residential zones into six will provide flexibility for different housing types and will help the city meet its long-term City Plan goal of creating “15-minute communities” which will enable Edmontonians to receive better access to transit and fulfill their daily needs closer to home.

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Zones will be split into residential, mixed-used, commercial, industrial, open space and civic services, and agricultural. 

What does this mean for neighbourhoods?

The new bylaw could mean that, over time, lots currently restricted to single-family homes and duplexes would allow for infill development. Neighbourhoods filled with single-family homes could start seeing various houses that are slightly-taller pop up without owners needing to ask the city for rezoning.

It would boost density and housing types allowed, including small apartments, rowhouses, garden suites and supportive housing up to three storeys tall, to be allowed in small-scale residential zones with up to eight dwellings. Some neighbourhoods could have taller buildings and more housing units if the current zoning already allows for it or if it’s on a corner site. Small-scale residential zones outside Anthony Henday Drive can build up to 12 metres tall.

Concerns on housing affordability

The proposed zoning bylaw has faced opposition from the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, among other organizations and residents, who have expressed their concern regarding whether or not this will aid with affordability over time.

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The coalition said in a news release, the new bylaw offers “little reason” to see that the city will have more equitable and safe communities and, if unaddressed, the bylaw will limit the development of housing for those with financial restraints.

“We also recommend, as a strong foundation for all this work, that a measurable plan for how the city will ensure the human right to adequate housing is in place, so that housing that responds to this vital commitment has a clear priority in decisions about development,” said the news release.

City staff did not say definitively if the new zoning bylaw will create affordable housing but said there were “many elements” to create affordable housing and zoning is part of the solution.

Changes to how residents and property owners will receive notifications

The proposed zoning bylaw looks to modernize how Edmontonians and property owners will be informed about proposed development. It looks to reduce unnecessary regulatory processes including retiring the requirement for the city to mail permitted development letters and remove the requirement in certain overlays to send notice before a discretionary development decision can be made.

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Approved development permits to be published on a publicly accessible webpage and development permit notification signs will be required in more areas of the city and expanded for certain types of non-residential development.

City staff said they will continue their ongoing communication efforts to keep the public informed through digital advertising on social media, outdoor signage, newsletters, emails and public service announcements.

If passed the new zoning bylaw would come into effect next Jan. 1.

— With files from Lauren Boothby and Keith Gerein

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