New for 2022-2026: An Infill Fire Protection Assessment (IFPA) must be completed for all projects once site-specific design and/or Fire Underwriters Survey (FUS) information is made available by the applicant. The updated evaluation will be coordinated by the City of Edmonton Planner or Development Officer, as appropriate. Projects not completing an IFPA will not be included for consideration within the program. In the first two years since the creation of the IFPA, the program has allowed for a detailed risk assessment for projects, resulting in the deferment of approximately $70 million of water main upgrade costs and is a key step in project assessment to ensure that funding is appropriately targeted.
2. Neighbourhood renewals and Arterial Program
This is defined as coordination with proposed, ongoing, or completed
water main renewal activities and coordination with the City of Edmonton’s Building Great Neighbourhoods -
Neighbourhood Renewal Program, which will allow for optimized capital spending and reduced resident disruption. To ensure coordination between infill development and neighbourhood renewals, EPCOR and the City of Edmonton will continue to facilitate meetings with IDEA to align planning efforts.
3. Location and use
The projects selected for consideration must comply with the current City Plan. The program will only consider funding for residential and mixed use developments with three or more units in established mature and core neighbourhoods (as defined within
Map 3 of Bylaw 15100). The location and use criteria will ensure that developments that meet the definition of "missing middle" are ranked higher.
"Missing middle" housing forms include: triplex homes, four-plexes, row-houses, stacked row-houses, low rise (four stories or less), and mid-rise (up to six stories) apartment buildings, including mixed-use developments. The missing middle is targeted for funding because it aligns with the City vision for infill development and recognizes there has been limited mid-sized residential development in established, mature and core neighbourhoods. High rise apartments will be considered for funding, but are not given priority.
NEW for 2023: Commercial-only developments with a site area of 4000 m2 and smaller will also be accepted. In addition, commercial developments that are re-using all or part of an existing building will be given priority. Commercial development submissions need to meet the criteria of the other categories listed and will be ranked together with the residential and mixed use development submissions.
4. New for 2022-2026: Alignment with City Plan
This is defined as the distance of the development to current and future areas of development as defined by City Plan. These include the primary and secondary nodes and corridors and the city-wide mass transit corridors outlined within City Plan. Please see Map 1 from the
City Plan Maps document, available from the City of Edmonton. Proposed developments that are 200m away or less from these defined areas are ranked highest, with decreasing points given for developments which are within 400m and 800m in proximity. Developments not in proximity to a defined node or corridor will not be considered.
5. Readiness
This refers to how far along the project is in the development process. For example, a project that is in the development permit phase is further along than a project that still requires rezoning. Construction of the development should not proceed without sufficient fire protection in accordance with both the National Fire Code and Volume 4 of the City of Edmonton Design and Construction Standards.
New for 2022-2026: Developments that have progressed beyond the Building Permit Review stage will not be considered, except for projects which have permits issue for demolition and site grading. Previously, any project that had progressed to Building Permit Review would be removed from consideration.
6. Coordination
This refers to the extent to which the project is aligned with other projects on the same street so that efficiencies in project coordination can be realized. EPCOR will evaluate and score the level of coordination of each project based on other known projects in the area.
Ranking Process
The points awarded in each category will be used to derive a total score for the project's ranking. In the case of projects with identical total scores priority will be given to the project(s) that have the best project coordination and where the highest number of proposed developments benefit from the project. If a tie still exists, the project with the lowest required funding will be selected. The final selection criteria will be based on which project had the earliest application date.
Projects that do not receive funding in the first year of their application may be eligible for funding in a subsequent year. If the timelines or surety of the cost share program do not meet the developer's needs, they can contract EPCOR to complete the works at the developer's expense.
Alternatively, developers may complete the works themselves at their expense under a servicing agreement as long as the risks posed to public health and the integrity of the water distribution and transmission system by the required works are deemed acceptable by EPCOR. Another option is for the applicant to hire EPCOR at a full cost-of-service to complete the construction on their behalf under the Water Customer Infrastructure Requests program. For more information on this program, contact
waterdtinfrastructure@epcor.com
