‘So f***ing rude … f**k you’: Edmonton councillor swears at colleague as infill debate spills into summer break

A debate on infill got heated at Edmonton City Hall on Friday. CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson reports.

Edmonton city council got heated late Friday afternoon when conversations around zoning bylaw pushed back the summer break.

It was the third day of public hearings on the topic, with all sorts of supporters and detractors weighing in on how to add density in the growing city.

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City council was set to break next week, but the public hearings saw more than 150 Edmontonians register to speak – leading council to consider an extension.

Both Ward sipiwiyiniwak Coun. Sarah Hamilton and Ward pihêsiwin Coun. Tim Cartmell said they would not be able to attend due to pre-planned trips based on the approved break.

Things got heated shortly after when Ward Sspomitapi Coun. Jo-Anne Wright suggested they could have anticipated a delay.

“From what I understand … this is a normal course of business with things ramping up, and I would think that maybe the incumbents would have been aware of that,” Wright said. “I wasn’t, but I’ve been able to adjust my schedule for the most part.”

“Point of order,” interrupted Hamilton. “That was so rude, Mr. Mayor. That was so f***ing rude. F**k you, Jo-Anne Wright. F**k you.”

Both Wright and Hamilton withdrew their comments shortly after.

Ward Anirniq Coun. Erin Rutherford, who also had travel plans booked, expressed disappointment and concern over the extension and the possibility multiple council members would be absent.

“This is one of the most important topics that Edmontonians expect us to have, and the councillors that do not attend will be questioned as to why they are not prioritizing this,” Rutherford said. “So I think it is putting us in a terrible position.”

In the end, city council voted 9-4 to return on Tuesday.

In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, Hamilton said “it was not the more parliamentary language” but that last-minute schedule changes are difficult for staff and council.

“The cruel attack on her (Wright’s) colleagues for having personal commitments that are not easily changed betrays her ignorance of how constructive governing bodies are actually run,” she said.

Wright spoke to media after the meeting ended and apologized for the exchange.

“I’m sorry that it happened,” Wright said. “If I had done something to sort of encourage that, or comments that I made, I do apologize for that.

“But, I’m still concerned that we aren’t going to have everybody on council at our public hearing to continue this.”

A lot of public feedback

The week of public hearings came 18 months after the city’s new updated zoning bylaw came into effect.

Supporters say infill projects under the new bylaw are increasing the housing supply and bringing new residents to aging neighbourhoods, where they support local businesses and boost the tax base.

“All of these mature neighbourhoods were designed to accommodate a much greater population than what they have,” Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said on Friday.

“Bus service is available, fire service, police service, recreational facilities … why would we not utilize the existing services and programs that we have in place and be more fiscally and sustainably and also environmentally responsible?”

Those opposed say too-tall infills are being dropped into communities without considering if they fit in the neighbourhood, with towering multi-unit homes breaking up blocks of single-family bungalows.

“People are caught by surprise when an eight- or 10-unit building goes up right next door,” said Kevin Taft, who registered to speak on Friday.

“In McKernan right now, there are 16 applications to zone to higher density, that’s in addition to all kinds of plexes,” he added. “That’s too fast. People can’t accommodate that and it’s unnecessary.”

Kelly Petryk spoke at the hearings on Monday and Thursday. She said she isn’t opposed to infill but doesn’t think it’s being done right – pointing to four fourplexes currently being built on a lot next to her home.

“My situation has been dubbed the ‘Crestwood situation’,” she said. “It’s a small crescent, (it) was one lot, now it’s two. It didn’t have the required frontage to be split. It has been split, and now there are 16 units going on.”

Petryk called what’s happening next to her house a “cautionary tale” and she is calling for better building guidelines and more effective public consultation.

“Are we ready to risk destroying neighbourhoods and say, ‘Oh gosh, well, I guess that didn’t work. Let’s go back and figure it out?’” she said.

“I’m really frustrated at the realization that we’re a guinea pig and we’re just going to wait and see and figure out what happens.”

Kalen Anderson, BILD Edmonton Metro CEO, supports the city’s infill plan and said the current conversations are all part of the process.

“I don’t think anybody should feel at all worried or ashamed about making changes that are smart,” Anderson said. “This is what city planning is about. It’s not a one-and-done.”

Council has said it is currently considering a number of changes to the bylaw based on feedback from residents, including:

• reducing the maximum units on a mid-block lot from eight to six;
• requiring more windows on the fronts of buildings;
• shrinking the maximum building length by two metres;
• changing how many side entrances a build can have;
• building homes further apart; and
• keeping side stairways from jutting out too much.

Anderson said many of them are reasonable, but she acknowledged they could negatively impact current builds.

“They would have to completely redesign their project. They might lose their financing. They might lose their customers,” she said. “They would likely have to sell the units … for a slightly higher price point or rent it at a higher market rate.

“Those are the trade offs. Again, city building is messy and wonderful and that’s why it’s a democratic process.”

Taft agreed that making changes is fine but said they should have been made as smaller changes over time.

“Council has like eight units on a 50-foot lot … when people are asking to go back, say to six or four, it throws off investors. It creates conflict,” Taft said.

“It’s much better to make 1,000 small changes when you’re planning a city than to make one massive one that incorporates so many neighbourhoods so dramatically.”

Ward Karhiio Coun. Keren Tang said on Thursday that there won’t be a way to satisfy everyone but that council will consider the input from across the board.

“We’re all in this learning exercise where we’re responding to what people are saying, and I think we need to remember that this is a collective journey that we’re on,” Tang said.

“We’re trying to figure out what is going to be in the best interest of the city and Edmontonians.”

City council will continue Friday’s meeting on Tuesday.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson