July 26th, 2010 | 
Author: The future of City Centre might be “up in the air” again, as Edmonton is now dealing with its third plebiscite regarding aviation in 18 years. A group headed by businessman Charles Allard is lobbying to enforce an updated vote on the next steps for City Centre Airport.
Currently, the 217-hectare airport site is slated to become an eco-friendly development offering both living and commercial space for approximately 30,000 residents.
Allard’s group, known as Envision Edmonton, plans to spend some $500,000 on getting petitions signed. The goal: Instate a bylaw that would maintain City Centre as a general-aviation facility and keep its infrastructure. Its two current runways would also be retained.
Allard said that up to 100 people are volunteering to work on the “Demand the Vote” project. He would like to attract around 1,000 helpers. He said that keeping City Centre open would help to keep businesses based in Edmonton.
TV ads are scheduled to start airing during the week of June 20. The workers are allotted 60 days to obtain signatures from some 78,000 people who are eligible to vote. This number accounts for ten percent of Edmonton’s population. Allard said that volunteers are going door-to-door, to office complexes, nursing homes and churches.
If Demand the Vote is successful, the question on the bylaw would be a part of the civic ballot in October.
Pledges are beginning to pour in from donors. Allard said that although most of the contributions range from $5,000 to $15,000, one pledge for at least $50,000 has arrived. At this point, Allard is not divulging donor names, citing privacy concerns.
Ryan Philipenko – Real Estate Services Edmonton
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