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Starting in August, developers in Edmonton won’t be able to build infill quite so high.
City council voted Monday to reduce the maximum height allowed for infill developments to 9.5 metres, down from 10.5.
Council had previously been looking at reducing the amount of units allowed in mid-block developments, but heard in the fall that many were more concerned about building size and height.
Mayor Andrew Knack said he believes the height reduction, alongside new setback rules brought in last summer, strike the right balance.
“This still allows for more units of housing to get built for us to retain our affordability advantage that we have across this country,” he said.
“And at the same time respond to what we’ve been hearing from residents and mature communities.”
Rob Smyth, a Glenora community league and Edmonton Neighbourhoods United volunteer, said the reduction is welcome, but something he sees as only a marginal improvement.
“We’ve got to take a deeper dive in the metrics of the zoning bylaw because it is causing havoc,” he said.
“It’s about a balance between maintaining the character of our neighbourhoods and allowing more density and infill.”
City staff found with the new height, three-storey infill can still be built, but it likely means lower ceilings and basements further underground. (City of Edmonton)
City staff found that 80 per cent of homes that were getting built in 2024 and 2025 were 9.5 metres or less.
The 10.5-metre cap allowed for taller ceilings and basements with higher windows above ground for secondary suites, administration wrote in its building height analysis.
Under 9.5 metres, three floors can still work but it means pushing basements further underground.
Peter Silverstone came to city hall to speak against any changes to the current bylaw.
He said he believes the changes will mean infill still gets built, only with more cramped living areas due to the restricted vertical footprint.
“Making smaller boxes for people to live in is not good for the city,” Silverstone said.
“We have a choice to make living that is now affordable and pleasant, or living that is affordable and unpleasant.”
While the new height restriction passed, councillors Jo-Anne Wright, Keren Tang and Jon Morgan voted against it.
Coun. Erin Rutherford said she reluctantly voted to support it, but cautioned that she believes continuous revisions to the bylaw create regulatory uncertainty.
“We need to stop and just let the zoning bylaw live out its life for a while. Like one of our speakers said, give it five to 10 years,” she said.
“We’ve literally changed the rules every construction cycle.”
But Coun. Michael Elliott told reporters he’s not so sure council should wait, because he’s hearing more about neighbours pursuing restrictive covenants, legal documents homeowners can use to limit what can be built on their lot.
“That tells me that … we’ve probably gotten a bit too far on this,” he said.
“I still have concerns over mid-block development.”
Council also considered proposed changes to the small-medium residential zone. These are areas close to mass transit stations or corner lots along arterial roads where three- to four-storey multi-unit housing developments can be built.
A recommendation from city staff to restrict the use of this zone to only city-designated nodes and corridors failed.
