Coun. Tim Cartmell attended Thursday’s public hearing into zoning bylaw changes remotely. So, the mayoral candidate didn’t see in person how some of his fellow city councillors took victory laps in the wake of his failed motion to put a temporary halt to infill projects. Read More
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi made public a document that showed councillors were informed last week that an infill moratorium would likely be illegal
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi made public a document that showed councillors were informed last week that an infill moratorium would likely be illegal
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Coun. Tim Cartmell attended Thursday’s public hearing into zoning bylaw changes remotely. So, the mayoral candidate didn’t see in person how some of his fellow city councillors took victory laps in the wake of his failed motion to put a temporary halt to infill projects.
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Cartmell’s motion to place a moratorium on density-increasing infill projects in mature neighbourhoods was shot down in council Monday night. It was ruled out of order because it likely contravened the Municipal Government Act, based on legal advice council had received.
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During Thursday’s continuation of city council’s public hearing into proposed zoning bylaw changes, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi moved that the legal advice be made public. Coun. Karen Principe, who will be running as part of Cartmell’s Better Edmonton party, questioned the move, but Sohi stressed the need to be transparent with the public on the issue.
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In the end Cartmell and Principe were part of a 13-0 vote to make the document public.
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The document was dated June 26, four days before Cartmell made the motion. It stated: “The province sets the standards for building construction and the municipality works within those parameters to issue building permits, inspect construction and administer enforcement. Under this hierarchy, the City of Edmonton does not have the authority to enact a moratorium on building permits. That authority would rest solely with the province of Alberta.”
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Coun. Aaron Paquette said the document shows that Cartmell went ahead with the motion, and rallied support from the public, knowing full well that infill moratoriums are outside of the municipal government’s purview.
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“No matter how finely a councillor wants to cut the baloney, it was still legally ill-advised to even consider that motion,” said Paquette. “And, after eight years of experience, you’d hope someone would know that — especially if they are running for mayor.
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“Imagine if we paused all the construction. That’s not just developers, that’s homeowners who want to build their homes again on the same properties. If you can imagine the sheer volume of people who would be affected, that could easily lead to class-action lawsuits for which Edmontonians would be on the hook.”
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Coun Keren Tang said the document was in the inboxes of all councillors on Friday.