On the agenda: Chinatown BIA, City Plan, naloxone

This week, Edmonton's city council returns from its summer recess to discuss the financial statements from the associations that oversee business improvement areas, potential updates to the City Plan, and the implications of allowing city employees to administer naloxone while working.

There is a community and public services committee meeting on Aug. 10, an urban planning committee meeting on Aug. 11, and an executive committee meeting on Aug. 12.

Here are some key items on the agenda this week:

• An auditor has found that the Chinatown and Area Business Association's 2025 financial statements did not include sufficient and appropriate audit evidence for the second year in a row, says a report to be presented to executive committee. The auditor also found issues including a lack of segregation of duties, poor organization of source documentation, limited review of financial statements, and no tracking or reconciliation of gift cards. Administration said it will bring forward options later this year that could result in the organization suspending or disestablishing. Administration said it will continue to work with the association to obtain financial updates.
• Administration will begin updating the City Plan, as Edmonton is expected to reach its first population threshold of 1.25 million in 2026. A report to be presented to urban planning committee said that city staff will analyze the progress of the plan's targets and metrics and make minor administrative corrections. Next, staff will create a plan for the work to follow, which could range from targeted amendments and new implementation projects to a comprehensive renewal of the plan itself. Some metrics can be measured with available data, while others would use data from the 2026 federal census, which won't be available at a neighbourhood level until 2028.
• Allowing city employees to administer naloxone on shift would require a dedicated program, says a report set to be presented to community and public services committee. Only trained city employees, such as peace officers and firefighters, are allowed to administer the opioid overdose reversal while on shift. Councillors inquired earlier this year about allowing other employees, including transit operators and library staff, to volunteer to use naloxone. The report said the city would be required to train those employees in administering first aid and naloxone, as well as in safety de-escalation and self-defence. The change would also come with legal implications and increased litigation risks and union implications, the report said. In 2025, 770 people died of overdoses in Edmonton, setting a new record and exceeding Calgary's death rate from drug poisoning.

Here are some more key items:

• The city is transitioning the community safety and well-being strategy into a corporate-wide framework to ensure it remains responsive to the needs of Edmontonians, says a report to be presented to councillors. The change will bring together 20 distinct strategies and action plans — including the affordable housing strategy, Indigenous framework, and economic development strategy — under the seven community safety and well-being pillars. As part of this transition, administration will make recommendations for funding related projects at the beginning of each four-year budget cycle.
• Administration recommends amending the district planning policy to clarify three secondary corridors. Such corridors are meant to be vibrant residential and commercial streets with mid-rise buildings. However, administration has found that some segments of the current secondary corridors are incompatible with that sort of design because, for example, houses face away from the road or are separated from the road by fences, berms, or greenspace. Administration has selected three segments it recommends to be modified: 111 Avenue between 149 Street and Groat Road; 107 Avenue between 149 Street and Groat Road; and 111/114 Street between 72 Avenue and 54 Avenue. Even though the segments are meant to be vibrant main streets, nearly all of the houses along them have their backyards and fences facing onto a corridor that primarily serves vehicle traffic. (An example of a secondary corridor that aligns more with what the policy initially intended is 76 Avenue in the Ritchie neighbourhood, which is a narrower street with a mix of retail, food, and residential uses.) If urban planning committee approves the changes, administration will begin localized planning for the three corridors.
• Administration has proposed an infill infrastructure program to incentivize development in priority growth areas, nodes, and corridors, which are neighbourhoods and main streets that are expected to see the most intensive development. The program would be focused on removing barriers to the upgrades to electricity, stormwater, and mobility infrastructure that are sometimes required with a new infill development. The incentive program would be available to all types of development, including residential, mixed-use, and non-residential, with no minimum number of dwelling units. The report said priority growth areas are almost five times more dense than the remainder of the city's redeveloping area, and they are home to 27% of Edmonton businesses despite accounting for only 4% of the city's area.
• The number of trips taken on shared e-scooters and e-bikes nearly tripled between 2022 and 2025, according to a report to be presented to urban planning committee. The average trip distance in 2025 was 2.2 kilometres, with an average duration of 13 minutes, which the report said shows that shared micromobility is primarily used for short trips. The two days with the highest number of trips were Canada Day and during a concert at Commonwealth Stadium, which the report said demonstrates the program's ability to accommodate significant demand during major events. Despite the increase in trips, complaints to 311 have stayed relatively stable, which the city said reflects continued improvements in program management. Over the next two years, the city will test new rules in a micromobility expansion to Mill Woods, such as restricting e-scooters and e-bikes to active transportation infrastructure and instituting new parking requirements.

And here are updates on some of the items we told you about the last time councillors met:

• Council revisited a controversial rezoning application in Rossdale that amended the height of buildings allowed on what is currently used as parking for Re/Max Field events. The rezoning passed with a 9-4 vote, with councillors Keren Tang, Jo-Anne Wright, Karen Principe, and Reed Clarke voting against. After the public hearing, some councillors suggested that the city could sell the land to the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations, which has expressed interest in building an Indigenous-led development on the land. Meanwhile, experts joined Speaking Municipally to explore what the Rossdale rezoning tells us about Indigenous engagement and consultation, the archeological significance of the river valley, and how to define the "highest and best use" of land.
• Council approved rezoning applications for two properties in Wîhkwêntôwin and one in Chinatown. The properties are now zoned for lower buildings.
• Council voted 9-3 to amend the design of the 50 Street active transportation project to accommodate all modes of transportation and parking. Councillors Jon Morgan, Erin Rutherford, and Jo-Anne Wright voted against the change.

Meetings stream live on YouTube on the Chamber channel and River Valley Room channel.