Council has approved $55,000 for the city to hire consultant engineers to develop engineering standards for new back alleys.
City engineer Kate Polkovsky presented the request at the Jan. 16 standing committee of the whole meeting, explaining there has been significant interest in back alleys since council approved the limited use of back alleys in new developments on Oct. 11, 2016.
"We have quite a few developers kind of chomping at the bit to incorporate this, or know how to incorporate this, into their communities," Polkovsky said, although she noted even with quick work the soonest construction standards would be in place would be the end of 2017.
Council approved the request 5-1, with only Mayor Nolan Crouse opposed. He argued developing engineering standards is essentially putting the cart before the horse, because no changes have yet been made to city policies that would allow the use of back alleys.
The argument in favour of back alleys is that it allows for a broader range of housing types, including more affordable housing types, in order to meet higher density targets set out by the Capital Region Board.
Crouse took exception to this interpretation, arguing developers looking to make money are behind this recent push for back alleys.
"I don't think the developers are walking in saying let's provide a broader range (of housing), I think they're providing bigger profits," he said.
Coun. Sheena Hughes said she thought the need for back alleys could be traced directly to the increasing residential-housing density targets established by the CRB, which Crouse had voted in favour of.
"The real reason we had to do this is because Mayor Crouse and the rest of the CRB members chose to increase density, and it's not without its consequences," she said.
Coun. Tim Osborne, who brought forward the motion, said he felt the impetus behind allowing back alleys is to help provide more diversity in housing, so it's an oversimplification to suggest it's driven entirely by developers.
Regardless, he said, it's important to get the standards right one way or the other.
"This is an area we have talked about moving forward on," he said. "I think we want to be sure we do it in a manner that's the best possible result for our community."
Council passed a motion 6-1 to go in camera for private discussions about changes coming to the CRB, citing a section of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act that allows council to get private advice from city staff.
While documentation about the regulations was included in the public agenda package, intergovernmental affairs manager Lynne Tremblay recommended having a "candid discussion" in private.
Coun. Bob Russell argued against having the discussions in private.
"This seems to me to be a public matter, and should be discussed," he said.
The proposed changes, announced Dec. 8, include reducing membership from 24 municipalities to 13, changing the voting structure, and changes to its mandate.
At the beginning of the meeting, Russell had requested the pending municipal inspection be added to the agenda for discussion in camera.
Former Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee announced a "limited scope" inspection of the city would take place in a letter dated Dec. 14, although an inspector has not yet been appointed. As of Jan. 19, Shaye Anderson will head up the municipal affairs ministry.
No public motions were made following the in camera discussions.
