{"id":456924,"date":"2026-02-06T04:45:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T04:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/456924\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T04:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T04:45:13","slug":"edmontonian-buys-neighbouring-house-to-prevent-infill-development-edmonton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/456924\/","title":{"rendered":"Edmontonian buys neighbouring house to prevent infill development &#8211; Edmonton"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When Mike Thomas\u2019 elderly neighbour got sick and needed to sell his small bungalow on a wide lot in east Edmonton, Thomas immediately became concerned about the home being torn down and replaced with something much bigger.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/70c8fc80.png\" alt=\"\" style=\"position:absolute;width:1px;height:1px\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Thomas said he has invested a lot into his own bungalow over the years: an addition, gardens, a back patio and solar panels on the roof.<\/p>\n<p>He felt like he had no avenue to stop a developer if they purchased the home to the south and wanted to build a multi-family housing complex.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would be losing enjoyment of my entire property,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-blockquote__content l-article__blockquoteContent\">\u201cMy property value would plummet for resale \u2014 even if the house is nice \u2014 because I\u2019ve got a monster next to me that completely blocks all the light.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>So, he made a life-changing decision \u2014 risking his financial future by buying his neighbour\u2019s home in the Bergman neighbourhood.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had to come up with $75,000 in three months to make the purchase.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-blockquote__content l-article__blockquoteContent\">\u201cI\u2019m not special and I\u2019m not wealthy \u2014 and that killed me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He now rents the bungalow next door, at a discount, to a family of Ukrainian refugees.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Infill, taxes &amp; public safety dominate Edmonton politics in 2025'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AM_YEG_POLI_YEAR_IN_REV_OM01NDHD_thumbnail_1280x720_.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   data-\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t7:13<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInfill, taxes &amp; public safety dominate Edmonton politics in 2025\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, the City of Edmonton changed zoning bylaws to allow for more multi-unit buildings up to three storeys in all neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/money123.jpg\" alt=\"Get expert insights, Q&amp;A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tGet weekly money news<\/p>\n<p>Get expert insights, Q&amp;A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>The aim was to encourage a variety of development to be built more easily in residential areas.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, there\u2019s been mixed reaction to the increase in multi-unit buildings replacing single-family homes.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Infill ended up being a contentious topic during the 2025 fall municipal election campaign after residents of established communities expressed concerns with property values, not enough parking, predatory developers, quality of builds and housing affordability.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Mixed reaction to Edmonton city council zoning bylaw changes'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/neverending.infill.folo.king.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   data-\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:54<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMixed reaction to Edmonton city council zoning bylaw changes\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11653259\/nine-toronto-police-officers-arrested-organized-crime\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770353112_806_d68a9576095a7eca05cb6bf9b66784ffd4d8891f3b7ee80b7ed39617437c8061.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tSeveral Toronto police officers arrested in organized crime investigation\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11654079\/donald-trump-tariffs-canada-bessent-senate\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770353113_200_CP175728856.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tU.S. would \u2018absolutely not\u2019 drop all tariffs if Canada did same: Bessent\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Some Edmonton homeowners in established, upscale areas like Crestwood and Glenora have even gone so far as to explore\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11252254\/edmonton-restrictive-covenant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">placing restrictive covenants on their properties<\/a>\u00a0to prevent future development.<\/p>\n<p>The legally binding agreement goes on a property title and limits how a property is used or developed, even after it is sold to a new owner.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.edmontonneighbourhoodsunited.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Neighbourhoods United<\/a> has volunteers from 50 mature neighbourhoods who are amplifying their concerns about infill together.<\/p>\n<p>Treasurer Dallas Moravec said their group knows of other frustrated residents doing something similar.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve heard a few different communities who have started some of these investor groups who put together some money,\u201d Moravec said. \u201cThey\u2019re looking to protect their neighbours\u2019 houses that potentially they want to sell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-blockquote__content l-article__blockquoteContent\">\u201cIt speaks to the unpredictability of the zoning bylaws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'More proposed infill changes headed to Edmonton city committee'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/6P_PROPOSED_INFILL_PIC.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   data-\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:37<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMore proposed infill changes headed to Edmonton city committee\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Edmonton\u2019s urban planning committee will be reviewing the city\u2019s controversial zoning and infill policies on Feb. 9.<\/p>\n<p>Reports indicate city staff recommend dropping the maximum number of units on a single lot from eight to six mid-block.<\/p>\n<p>For more information, watch the video at the top of this story.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore on Lifestyle<br \/>\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t&amp;copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Mike Thomas\u2019 elderly neighbour got sick and needed to sell his small bungalow on a wide lot&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,1849,120670,187276,134,44],"class_list":{"0":"post-456924","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-consumer","11":"tag-edmonton-infill","12":"tag-infill","13":"tag-money","14":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}