Alberta proposes tax exemptions to increase affordable housing as part of Bill 20
The Alberta government announced new initiatives and tools for municipalities to increase the amount of affordable housing available across the province.
These would be changes to the Municipal Government Act as part of the controversial Bill 20, which has received criticism from municipalities in Alberta.
- Alberta Municipalities said it hasn't been given chance to consult on changes to bill
- Municipal political party forms in Edmonton as politicians continue Bill 20 debate
Proposed amendments to the act include fully exempting non-profit subsidized affordable housing from municipal and education property taxes.
Another proposed change would allow municipalities to offer multi-year residential property tax exemptions.
The provincial government is also proposing new rules around public hearings, including requiring digital options for attendance.
"We're also encouraging municipalities to make decisions in a timely manner, which is why we are restricting the ability for municipalities to hold extra public hearings that are not required by legislation," said Ric McIver, minister of municipal affairs.
"We are also proposing to limit the ability of municipalities to require non-statutory studies for building and developing permits."
So far this year, there have been nearly 10,000 new housing construction projects in the province, an increase from 6,200 at the same time in 2023, according to Jason Nixon, minister of seniors, community and social services. One third of the housing starts this year are for rental units.
"There are so many barriers to building more homes that we have the power to remove and with this legislation, we will address these barriers encouraging more efficiency, which ultimately gets more shovels in the ground," Nixon said.
The province aims to support 82,000 more low-income households by 2031, added Nixon.
Outside of the changes in Bill 20, the Community Revitalization Levy (CRL) program criteria will also be expanded to include the capital costs of privately-owned affordable or attainable housing.
"The CRL program has already seen great success in Calgary and Edmonton and other communities like Cochrane and Airdrie are using it as well," McIver said.
"Our goal is that this approach gives cities one more tool they can consider using to address housing issues at the local level."
Changes to the city charters in Edmonton and Calgary have also been proposed by the province.
These include: allowing developers to appeal offsite levies to the Land and Property Rights Tribunal, removing provisions around inclusionary housing zoning and repealing the cities' authority to create bylaws related to building codes and energy efficiency standards.
According to McIver, these changes will mean less uncertainty from builders and lower costs for homes.
"Alberta needs one building code. Now, this doesn't stop a municipality if they want to incent a higher standard of environmental equipment in a home, but they don't have the ability to demand it as a condition of building a home that way," McIver said.
"If we were to allow that, in my opinion that would probably get less housing built at a time when more housing is exactly what we need."
Officials with the City of Edmonton say the changes will make things more expensive for developers.
"We've had feedback from the development industry that more stringent energy codes can add additional costs to the construction of a building," the city's Kim Petrin said.
While the city can't approve projects anymore, they can still incentivize companies to break ground.
"The team is looking at how applications that have green elements to them that we'd be able to expedite those applications."
Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi says the city's development industry has been innovative in finding ways to build better and reduce emissions.
"They're taking actions on their own to make buildings more sustainable and energy efficient. We will continue to incentivize and support our industry to do so."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Marek Tkach
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Guilty: Trump becomes first former U.S. president convicted of felony crimes
Donald Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes Thursday as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.
Can Trump come to Canada now that he's a convicted felon?
A Canadian immigration lawyer says now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, he is technically barred from crossing the border into Canada.
Montreal tech billionaire charged with several sex offences
Robert Miller was charged Thursday with several sexual assault charges after Montreal police reopened an investigation into the tech billionaire.
Police: 3 killed, including suspected gunman, in Minneapolis shooting
Three people, including the suspected gunman, are dead after a shooting Thursday at a Minneapolis apartment complex, police said.
'Why didn't they stop?' Mom asks of driver in hit-and-run crash that killed son
The mother of a 13-year-old boy who was killed in a hit-and-run in Edmonton is begging the driver to come forward.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
$400K in damages for B.C. woman who had unnecessary mastectomy was 'inordinately high,' court finds
A jury's award of $400,000 to a woman who had a mastectomy after being misdiagnosed with breast cancer has been substantially reduced by B.C.'s highest court, which found the damages were "wholly disproportionate."