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Edmonton’s Municipal Development Plan passes second reading
City Council passed the Municipal Development Plan in second reading tonight. Titled “The Way We Grow,” the document is Edmonton’s strategic growth and development plan, meant to shape urban form and guide future land use. It must now be approved by the Capital Region Board, after which it’ll return to Council for third reading (expected in the May-June timeframe). Here are a few notes on the evening:
- Councillors Henderson and Krushell pounced on the removal of the words “winter city” from the plan. Councillor Henderson’s proposed amendment was passed unanimously, changing the wording to something like the following: “That all urban design reflects that Edmonton is a winter city, allowing citizens to enjoy it in all seasons.”
- Councillor Iveson pushed for stronger language around intensification targets, arguing that we need to move beyond simple aspiration to achieving meaningful outcomes. His amendment was passed unanimously.
- Mayor Mandel said that Councillor Iveson’s amendment was a clear statement that Council wants more aggressive intensification, something the Mayor has supported. He again urged creative solutions to cost difficulties for infill development.
- There was quite a bit of discussion on the topic of gravel mines in the river valley. I suspect we’ll hear more about that in the future.
The Greater Edmonton Alliance has played a key role in the evolution of the MDP, through it’s campaign to “create a vibrant and sustainable food economy.” Hundreds of Edmontonians once again filled City Hall this evening to show their support. Here are a few photos:
If you’d like to be notified about future GEA events and initiatives, consider joining their mailing list.
GEA has had great success with the campaign, perhaps most memorably with The Great Potato Giveaway. It’ll be interesting to see which issue GEA turns its attention to next.
You can see a few more photos from the evening here.
UPDATE: Don posted his thoughts here.
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Tags: agriculture, edmonton, food, gea, government, greater edmonton alliance, mdp, planning, politics, urban
Categories: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:15 pm
Thanks for the summary! You managed to communicate the gist of 2 hrs of “questions” and debate well. Glad you were there to inform those who couldn’t be.
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:45 pm
You did a great job tweeting tonight yourself!
February 27th, 2010 at 12:12 am
[...] local food (Hardware Grill, Madison’s Grill)? How does this align with Edmonton’s recently passed Municipal Development Plan that preserves local farm land (and signals the city’s support of local food)? This is the first [...]
March 4th, 2010 at 1:52 am
[...] special thanks to Edmontonian blogger Mack D Male, whose post about The Way We Grow is here. His photos were used exclusively to illustrate this [...]