A vote over the fate of the last piece of unplanned land in Edmonton erupted into accusations of bullying Monday night, as city councillors argued about how many people should live in the area.
The city plans to transform Decoteau, south of Anthony Henday Drive between 50th Street and Meridian Street, from farmland into a residential development.
In a contentious 6-5 vote, councillors rejected the proposed plan for Decoteau, urging the administration to find ways of increasing density and including more commercial development in the area.
“Here we are, with this plan that kind of bobs along the bottom with the minimum [density],” said Coun. Michael Walters.
Several councillors were concerned that the plan would lead to a financial loss for the city.
“Tax revenues from this area will not cover capital, operating and maintenance costs,” Coun. Scott Mckeen said.
“At a very superficial level, this looks like a losing proposition for the City of Edmonton.”
During the debate, Coun. Ed Gibbons accused Walters of “bullying” developers into accepting his vision. He, along with other dissenting councillors, said the plan has been developed over two-and-a-half years and that sending it back for review would be nothing more than a make-work project. When asked by the mayor to apologize for the remarks, Gibbons refused.
Walters said he simply raised his concerns, and developers working on the plan were happy to take another look.
“So far, my bullying is of a collaborative and kind approach,” Walters said.
Council did not set a specific target for the amount of density they would like to see in the next draft of the plan. They will review the plan again in March.
