{"id":921625,"date":"2026-10-05T15:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T15:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/921625\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T15:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T15:10:14","slug":"edmonton-infill-protest-brings-hundreds-to-churchill-square","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/921625\/","title":{"rendered":"Edmonton infill protest brings hundreds to Churchill Square"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hundreds gathered in Edmonton\u2019s Churchill Square on Sunday afternoon to rally against the city’s infill development policies.<\/p>\n

Dallas Moravec, an Edmonton real estate agent and chair of Edmonton Neighbourhoods United, organized Sunday’s protest. He said his organization has been advocating for stricter infill restrictions for more than a year without a meaningful response from municipal government.<\/p>\n

Edmonton’s current zoning bylaw regulations allow up to eight-unit multiplexes on single-family lots \u2014 policies which have prompted concerns from some about the strain on local infrastructure, increasing congestion and the loss of historic character in Edmonton’s mature neighbourhoods. <\/p>\n

During Sunday’s demonstration, Moravec said those concerns need to be heard at city hall. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to bring everyone together to show Edmonton city council we are a united voice,\u201d Moravec said in an interview with CBC News.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019re not going away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ADallas Moravec\u2019s group Edmonton Neighbourhoods United organized Sunday’s protest. (Paul Rampersaud\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Moravec said members of his group are not against infills, they just want them done responsibly.<\/p>\n

One of the group\u2019s specific concerns are multiplex and large-scale housing developments. Some protesters described new infill builds that loom over their single family homes.<\/p>\n

Jacob Dawang of Grow Together Edmonton, a group that advocates for further housing development in Edmonton, was also at Sunday\u2019s protest.<\/p>\n

He argued that infills keep the city affordable, increase vibrancy and allow renters to live in communities they love.<\/p>\n

LISTEN | Impacts of changes to infill:<\/p>\n

This is Edmonton19:04Sorting through Edmonton\u2019s infill feelings<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really responding to a demand,\u201d Dawang told reporters on Sunday. \u201cPeople of all walks of life, finally, are able to call the neighbourhoods they love home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other municipalities that have stricter infill regulations leave renters with fewer options, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll that renters get to choose from is to live in a tower on a busy arterial road, or you get to move out of the city,\u201d said Dawang. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019ve rejected wholeheartedly in Edmonton.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some protesters gathered aground Dawang, waving signs and shouting, in a brief confrontation marked by pointed questions about the city’s current policies. <\/p>\n

Dawang told the protesters they were welcome to their opinions on infill developments but they are “not the majority.”<\/p>\n

\"AProtesters encircle Jacob Dawang (right) with signs as he spoke to reporters at the protest. (Paul Rampersaud\/CBC)Changes to zoning bylaw<\/p>\n

Edmonton\u2019s infill restrictions have been tightened since the zoning bylaw came into effect in 2024.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, city council voted to amend the bylaw to shrink the allowed footprint, decrease the number of side doors a property can have and lower the maximum building height by one metre.<\/p>\n

Moravec said he has noticed a shift in city council since his organization\u2019s advocacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey made small changes, which was a drop in the bucket,\u201d he said. \u201cBut yes, I do believe they are starting to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ward O-day’min Coun. Anne Stevenson told CBC News ahead of Sunday\u2019s protest that the recent changes were a direct response to community feedback.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic feedback has been a really important part of how we\u2019ve evolved the zoning bylaw,\u201d Stevenson said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt serves to strengthen the regulations, make them a better fit for our neighbourhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

City council\u2019s next public hearing on Oct. 13 includes proposed small and medium-scale housing developments in the neighbourhoods of McKernan, Westmount and Kenilworth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":921626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194294],"tags":[49,48,23752],"class_list":["post-921625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-edmonton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921625","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=921625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/921626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=921625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=921625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=921625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}