Thank you for checking out our civics monthly brief that’s specific to planning and development. we will aim to bring you the most relevant information, opportunities and resources to inform your work – and to bring you up to date with what the EFCL is working on for Leagues.
We’re excited to work with Edmontonians to shape the future of our city. Community Leagues and citizens have a right to be involved as partners in planning and development processes and we’re committed to bringing everyone into that process.
What We’re Reading
THE FRONT PAGE
District Plans
District plans are a new way of thinking about our community of communities. Edmonton is a city of more than 375 neighbourhoods and is on a trajectory of growth towards over two million people by 2040. A new Municipal Development Plan, The City Plan is an opportunity to develop and encourage new ways of living together, building together and leveraging the strength of our neighbourhoods and community leagues.
The Walkable Neighbourhood
One of the key elements of the district planning framework is the 15 minute district. This is an explicit intention to design and retrofit our neighbourhoods to allow for Edmontonians to “easily complete their daily needs” within a 15 minute walk, roll, bike ride or transit trip from your home. It is a way of identifying and building up what is already strong in many of our neighbourhoods, the local grocer, pub, candy shop or co-working space.
Timeline and where to get involved
Following council approval and city wide public engagement, the City is targeting 2023 for completion of the District Planning framework. Edmontonians will be invited to reflect on the proposals, plans, provide feedback and fill in the gaps, identifying and codifying the values we share as citizens. Once approved, ongoing monitoring, measuring and maintenance of these district plans will mean constant improvement both through amendment but also through refinement as we engage together on projects that impact our communities.
The Leagues voice in planning
The District Planning framework means breaking our city into 15 districts, each with a rich history and character. The district planning process aims to recognize what is unique while reflecting what we see as our vision for Edmonton’s future, a future identified by residents across Edmonton in the CIty Plan. District plans will act as the scaffolding by which we will hang our planning, development and investment intentions, our goals and shared vision. District plans will help create more clear, usable and focused planning tools for leagues and citizens engaged in the city building process.
Citizens and leagues have an important role to play in applying the City Plan and making sure it works for everyone. While some of our old neighbourhood plans will be repealed, community policies that remain relevant will be woven into district plans. This process relies on you and your league getting involved, sharing your vision and championing healthy and resilient communities. We are excited to share an opportunity with leagues across the city to create new plans and reevaluate the old ones to refocus on community wellbeing, welcome new Edmontonians to our neighbourhoods, create sustainable development opportunities, spark investment, and create the conditions for safe, inclusive and vibrant communities.
THE MONTHLY BRIEF
The Monthly Brief will provide you with a summary of the conversations and priorities of the EFCL’s Planning and Development Committee.
The PDC is made up of 12 District Representatives from across the City of Edmonton, who are elected to represent their Districts and provide comments from a community perspective when it comes to planning and development policy in Edmonton.
The Planning and Development Committee provides critical input and ensures representation for leagues on city wide planning and transportation matters and supports individual leagues and districts in building rich, engaging, inclusive and generous communities through planning, design and development.
If you are interested in becoming a district representative through your league, apply HERE today.
Item 1. Connecting A New Council
There’s a new mayor and council in Edmonton and we couldn’t be more excited to work with them over the next four years. A new council comes at a time of immense change in our city. With that change comes significant responsibility to champion Leagues and to elevate League voices in planning, transportation and engagement matters that affect them.
One of the first orders of business is establishing an ongoing and meaningful line of communication between Councillors, Leagues and their District Representatives. The EFCL, through your Planning and Development Committee, has sent out a League orientation survey in order to gather and consolidate priorities as well as to make connections and develop effective relationships.
Get in touch with your Community League to share your priorities and get engaged.
Photo courtesy of the City of Edmonton photos.edmonton.ca
Item 2. EFCL Engagement and Advocacy
The question of how to build a connected, collaborative, diverse and inclusive dialog has been a focus of the PDC over the past number of months. The EFCL advocates for itself and on behalf of all Leagues on city-wide issues and is committed to positive change by engaging Leagues and equipping them with ways to engage their communities.
While the EFCL is not and should not be seen as a replacement or proxy for direct League involvement, we believe that as an organization we have a responsibility to facilitate information sharing, and two-way communication from Leagues to the city.
One immediate action will be this newsletter, which will be a conduit for information sharing and an update on the activity and focus of the Planning and Development Committee and EFCL.
Follow us as we develop this information sharing platform and as always contact your league and/or your civics director for more information.
Photo courtesy of the City of Edmonton photos.edmonton.ca
Item 3. Participatory Planning and Community Design
Community Leagues and citizens have a right to be involved as a partners in planning and development processes in Edmonton. Participation should be based on mutually understood practices of consultation and engagement and citizens should be invited to provide their knowledge and opinion on development that affects their neighbourhood.
The PDC and the EFCL’s Community Planning Advisor are here to walk alongside and equip citizens and Leagues to work together, make decisions, and take action to shape the physical and social infrastructure of our city. This is a collaborative model that is emerging across Canada and puts decision making power in the hands of residents.
We’re exploring models like the Resilient Streets Toolkit to develop neighbourhood and block level design labs where citizens and other stakeholders can come together to determine how their neighbourhood can solve problems, create vibrant public places, pursue opportunities and develop the assets already existing in their communities.
More information and official pilot projects will be shared in the new year. In the meantime, we encourage you to explore the power of a plan.
Photo courtesy of the City of Edmonton photos.edmonton.ca
Item 4. Neighbourhood Street Safety Phase Two
We believe community building starts on the sidewalks in front of our homes. When we feel safe on the sidewalk we can linger longer and chat with our neighbours, parents feel more comfortable allowing their children to play in front yards and on sidewalks, and walking, cycling, and getting active becomes a lot easier.
The Neighbourhood Street Safety initiative had an incredible effect and positive response from Edmontonians. Five street safety principles culminated in a first step of reducing Edmonton’s residential speed limit to 40km/h. We hope that this can inspire conversations about what street safety means in our leagues and how we can support the city’s Safe Mobility Strategy and Edmonton’s Bike Plan.
Our aim is to share information and advocate for the type of infrastructure development that keeps our kids safe, supports our local businesses, creates a diversity of opportunities for moving around and responds meaningfully to our collective climate responsibility.
Follow this newsletter to learn more about neighbourhood street safety and contribute to the conversation in your community.
Photo courtesy of the City of Edmonton photos.edmonton.ca
