Edmonton's Food Strategy - Jonathon McNeice

Jonathan McNeice

Urban Planner

Food Strategy Amidst Development Pressures

Overview

1. What triggered a strategy?

2. Land use planning within food strategy

3. Dealing with the urban/rural divide

4. Collaboration between diverse stakeholders, providing value and managing tension

5. Lessons learned

Background

Photo B9021 appears courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Alberta "Vegetables from Donald Ross's Vegetable Garden Edmonton (1902)

City Information: Edmonton

• Capital of Alberta - Most northerly metropolitan region in Canada

• “Gateway to the North”

• One of Canada’s fastest growing municipalities

• Located on some of the best ag soils in Canada, highest concentration of Class 1 soils in AB

• Yet has the second largest ecological footprint in Canada - a city of contrasts

• A sprawling metropolis where auto largely determines the structure of the city.

City Information: Edmonton

Size and population development City/Metro(Region)1990: 831,000; 2011: 1,142,000; 2025: 1,427,000

Main functions• known as the "festival city"; cultural and educational center

Main industries / business• oil and gas industries (important reserves)

Political structureMayor and City Council• Administrative structure• 7 sectors divided up into 375 neighbourhoods

Lead up to a Strategy - Growth

• Alberta has 1/3 Canada’s farmland, 19% of Class 1 AG land

• Increasing loss of prime farmland (Demographics & Econ growth)

• 11% population growth, 83% urban• 2006 – 2011: farms declined 12.4%, 650k ha lost

(most Class 1 near urban centers)• Why? – Land speculation, fragmentation of

farmland, encroachment, land prices increase beyond AG production value, retirement age

Lead up to a Strategy – Land Use

• Mid ‘90s Land Use Planning downloaded from Province to Muni/Region

• AB Muni Gov Act abolished Regional Planning Councils, transfer AG land protection to Muni

• Provincial Land Use Policies developed and encouraged, but not mandatory

• In contrast, ON/BC/QC have provincially legislated delineation of AG zones and urban growth boundaries

Lead up to a Strategy - GEA

• Greater Edmonton Alliance – broad based citizens organization based on social activist Saul Alinsky (churches, unions, community organizations)

• Has success in land use issue of affordable housing, wanted to take on local food next

• Brought out 500+ people to Council

Great Potato Giveaway

• 15,000 citizens, 100,000 lbs of potatoes

• Local and national news attention about local food, protecting and integrating farmland into urban development

Great Potato Giveaway

Hundreds of cars line up for The Great Potato Giveaway on Saturday, September 26, 2009.Photograph by: Ryan Jackson, Edmonton Journal

People haul away bags of potatoes from the Great Potato Give Away at Norbest Farms, North East of Edmonton on September 26, 2009. Thousands of people lined up for hours to pick over 100,000 pounds of potatoes that were given away to create awareness of agricultural land close to the city.Photograph by: Ryan Jackson, Edmonton Journal

Lead up to a Strategy – MDP review

• Translates to “Official Plan” in Ontarian• Legislated 10 year review, began in 2006, Called “The

Ways”• Civic activism (GEA) raised growth concerns, took 4

years to complete• Mayor Steven Mandel (former developer)• GEA Local Food Team – polled members on draft MDP,

2 concerns: food security & preservation of prime AG lands within city boundaries.

• Reached out through social media, kitchen and neighborhood meetings, raised public awareness and mobilized 600 Edmontonians to attend MDP hearings.

MDP 2009 - Council

• Historically, Council viewed food issues as beyond their mandate

• Tabled the draft, requested staff to report back on comparable muni food and farmland policy initiatives.

• GEA continued educating and mobilizing, pledges from 700 families to shift 40% of the current food $ to local

• Second public hearing June 2009 – 500 citizens

• GEA policy paper – The Way We Eat recommending amendments to the MDP to support UA and preservation of remaining AG lands, council tabled for consideration

Approval of MDP

• May 2010 approved MDP that mandated the development of a Citywide Food and Agriculture Strategy and require that future ASPs be designed in adherence with this strategy

• Attempted to link Land Use Planning and a Food and AG Strategy

Impacts of activism

• Significant amendments to MDP

• Proposed residential and industrial developments in NE AG lands (Horse Hills ASP) put on hold (plan development continued concurrently) to enable the development of Fresh: Edmonton’s Food and Urban Ag Strategy.

• Pressure is on!

City’s Municipal Development Plan which proposes a range of possible actions the City could take as it develops the strategy, including:• supporting the establishment of a food policy council;• working with the community to create a local food charter;• working with the region to develop a regional food policy

council and food charter;• collaborating with communities, landowners and other

organizations to identify potential areas and lands for urban agricultural activities;

• establishing guidelines for integrating urban agriculture into public and private spaces and developments.

Mayor

More concerned about..

Than…

3. Dealing with the urban/rural divide

Several distinct groups appeared in NE:

GEA – concerned about local food, no “skin in the game”

NEAP – AG producers in the area

NEEA – small non farm land owners, taxes increased since annexation, want more services and property tax increase

Walton – predominate land owner, wanted to upzone and sell for shareholders

3. Dealing with the urban/rural divide

• Historically AG viewed as a holding zone until res/comm/industrial comes along

• Assumption that you needed “skin in the game” to participate, not public good

• People vs. Ownership

• Agreement on principals and goals, not hard targets and commitments

• Agreement on everything else, but land

Fresh approval

• November 2012, 5 goals and 9 strategic directions as basis for action.

• 4 out of 5 committee members approved (5th

wanted more – cost analysis of options for aglands, more concrete recommendations and targets)

• Council asked Admin to prepare and implementation and budget for Strategy

• Approved continuing funding of $150k annually– 1 FTE to establish and support a food council.

2. Land use planning within food strategy

• One of the first attempts a in food strategy

• Significant public support for it, few tools available at muni level

• Must have political support, developer tolerance and implementation mechanisms

• ASPs are a developer lead process (not City)

• 200ha saved in Horse Hills ASP vs. 600ha

• Having some success with Urban AG zoning

4. Collaboration between diverse stakeholders, providing value and

managing tension

• Look for win/win situations (i.e. Agrihoods)

• Don’t neglect the whole food system when discussing land use

• Build the business case and Cost Benefit Analysis

• It takes time to build relationships

• Consultation vs. democracy

5. Lessons Learned

• Short term vs. Long term costs/benefit

– Be conscious of the servicing that is happening to the lands

• Be very conscious of your political climate

• Don’t rush, many thought 13 months was too quick – Vancouver/Toronto took years

• Have your land use tools/mechanisms ready

Food Policy Council Created

Jonathan McNeiceJonathan.mcneice@gmail.com905-315-0417