PREPARING TO HEAD TO THE POLLS
Civic election coverage
It appears residents of McCauley are winning their battle to convince the rest of Edmonton that concentrating housing for the homeless in their neighbourhood is a bad idea.
For years, that was a go-to destination as not-for-profit housing agencies looked to buy cheap land. But a survey of the 69 people running to become city councillor shows most now say spreading out services is essential for a healthy city.
Sixty-six candidates responded to the Edmonton Journal. Twentynine per cent used their 100 words to stress that concentrating lowincome housing can damage communities.
Even among those who don’t mention that danger, most seemed to take as a given that every ward will be asked to do its share.
Ward 12 incumbent Moe Banga said surplus school sites should be considered, and challenger Mike Russnak wrote, “With the second lowest density of non-market affordable housing in the city at 0.6 per cent, Ward 12 is likely to see many proposals for affordable housing from council.”
He used his 100 words to stress that new sites must be near transit, medical and support services to help people rebuild their lives.
For the last 10 years, McCauley residents and others have been trying to convince council to stop concentrating subsidized units in just a couple neighbourhoods. They won a moratorium on new city-funded units in 2012, but they’re still waiting to see construction scale up in other areas.
Now it’s an urgent question. Homeward Trust says it will take 1,000 units of new, deeply subsidized supportive housing to end chronic homelessness.
It seems to be on many candidates’ minds. But attitudes might also be changing as homeless patterns shift in the city.
HOMELESS PATTERNS SHIFTING
People are now panhandling at the intersection of 34 Street and Gateway Boulevard, said Ward 11 incumbent Mike Nickel, explaining in an interview why his written position on homelessness has a new sense of urgency.
In the last three to four months, residents in Ritchie and King Edward Park have been noticing more people who look homeless and more petty crime in their neighbourhoods, he said, suggesting the downtown arena is displacing people.
Housing and homelessness is a provincial responsibility, but it’s now having serious local implications, he said.
“We have to deal with it sooner rather than later.”
As for the tricky task of picking sites, several candidates said it should be the councillor’s role to engage the community in the search. Five candidates suggested the city should start with cityowned land, Ward 7 candidate Matthew Kleywegt named the Northlands campus and several candidates want housing for the homeless near the new LRT stations.
EDMONTON’S NORTHEAST
Several northeast candidates were adamant that social housing must be spread across the city. For many of them, that seemed to mean not in the areas of Ward 4 that already have 10 to 15 per cent.
“Concentration of this type of housing damages communities,” said Ward 4 candidate Rocco Caterina.
“I have been advocating for a 10 per cent cap on social housing inventory in every neighbourhood, to prevent clustering, provide equitable access across the city, and ensure every neighbourhood contributes to solving this problem.”
INCLUSIVE ZONING
Several candidates said Edmonton should create inclusionary zoning — requiring every new neighbourhood and condo building to include a certain percentage of affordable housing.
“Every single multi-unit development permit issued throughout the city (should) require a percentage of units be set aside for affordable housing. No exceptions. No buying your way out of it,” said Ward 7 candidate Mimi Williams.
But not everyone is in favour of that. Ward 5 candidate Svetlana Pavlenko said putting vulnerable people in brand-new neighbourhoods is the wrong approach, at least for the recently homeless. “There is little or no public transport and there are none of the needed services available.”
Ward 3 incumbent Dave Loken said the new Londonderry housing project is a “perfect example” of the solution. “It’s being done in Kilkenny not downtown. Mixing different unit types and allowing for different income levels make projects like this much more viable.”