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Edmonton wants the power to tax derelict property owners into cleaning up their act.

That’s just one of the increased powers it’s requesting from the province as it reviews what amounts to Edmonton’s constitutional documents. Alberta’s Municipal Government Act spells out everything Edmonton can and can’t do, and councillors were not impressed at the province’s first take.

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Here are five issues debated Tuesday.

Vacant land

Edmonton has been lobbying for the right to tax derelict commercial property at a higher rate to punish landowners who refuse to redevelop neighbourhood eyesores. The current tax system rewards derelict land.

Instead, the province put a limit on how much a business can be taxed relative to the residential tax rate. It created non-residential subclasses, but mainly with a view to supporting small business.

“I raised this issue explicitly with the minister and they had not contemplated it,” said Mayor Don Iveson, suggesting a lobby effort now might pay off.