Submitted

I can’t believe what Edmonton has done. The city has passed a bylaw that allows developers to build eight-unit buildings on any lot in any mature neighborhood—without requiring a single parking spot. This isn’t just bad policy; it’s a slap in the face to homeowners like me who have invested our time, money, and emotional energy into finding the right place to settle down.

Like many others, I spent years searching for a neighborhood that felt right. I considered everything—traffic flow, noise levels, green space, community feel. I wanted a place where I could enjoy my home, my yard, and my peace of mind. And I paid a premium for it. Homeownership isn’t just about property; it’s about stability and the promise of a certain quality of life.

Now, that’s all up in the air. This blanket zoning change means that any day, without warning, a massive eight-unit structure could rise next door. Or behind me. Or right in front. Or, worst of all, all three at the same time. It won’t just be a large house—it could feel like a shopping mall towering over my home, swallowing up what used to be my quiet, livable neighborhood. Sunlight? Gone. Privacy? A thing of the past. And let’s not forget the inevitable congestion. More people, more noise, and, of course, more cars—except developers aren’t even required to provide parking. So where will all these new residents park? Right in front of my house, filling every available space, clogging up roads that were never meant for this kind of density.

And let’s talk about taxes. Every year, I shell out an outrageous amount in property taxes, and for what? For City Hall to go out of its way to make my life more stressful? I pay through the nose for services, yet the city seems hellbent on erasing everything that made my neighborhood livable in the first place. Instead of protecting homeowners, they’re handing developers a golden ticket while leaving us to deal with the fallout.

Meanwhile, my wages have barely budged in years. The cost of everything keeps rising, but my paycheck stays the same. Yet the City Council has no problem voting themselves generous raises while making decisions that devalue my home and disrupt my neighborhood. They don’t feel the consequences of their policies—we do. And they expect us to just sit back and take it?

The worst part? No one asked us. No real consultation, no consideration for those of us who built our lives in these neighborhoods. A bylaw of this magnitude—one that fundamentally reshapes the entire city—should never have been passed without a city-wide election referendum. Something this disruptive, this irreversible, should have been decided by the people who actually live here, not just by a handful of politicians sitting in City Hall.

You know what other government loves making one-sided, top-down decisions without consulting its citizens? The People’s Republic of China. There, the government decides, and the people just have to live with it—whether they like it or not. Sound familiar? Because that’s exactly what Edmonton’s City Hall is doing to its own residents. They dictate, we suffer. They profit, we pay.

This isn’t progress. It’s betrayal. And I, for one, am furious.