🤯 Housing gatekeepers on Calgary city council block common sense proposal
Eight city councillors just voted to block a common sense proposal to build 1,100 new homes next to a brand new rapid transit station at the site of the current Glenmore Landing strip mall in southwest Calgary. Many of these councillors were the same local housing gatekeepers who cited a preference to build exactly this type of transit oriented development (TOD) when they opposed the rezoning that legalized duplexes and row homes citywide last year.
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❌ Ward 1 - Sonya Sharp |
❌ Ward 2 - Jennifer Wyness |
❌ Ward 4 - Sean Chu |
❌ Ward 5 - Raj Dhaliwal |
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❌ Ward 7 - Terry Wong |
❌ Ward 10 - Andrew Chabot |
❌ Ward 13 - Dan McLean |
❌ Ward 14 - Peter Demong |
In voting to block 1,100 new homes in Calgary, these eight councillors sided with the same vocal minority of NIMBYs who previously fought bus rapid transit to their southwest communities.
Video source (CBC News)
🏘️ Proposal would have transformed Glenmore Landing from an aging strip mall to a vibrant community hub
With a profound lack of housing options in southwest Calgary, the new development proposal was a perfect opportunity to build 1,100 new homes with great connectivity along a major arterial road, serviced by a brand new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line with dedicated roadway and express service to downtown - not to mention convenient access to the pathway network via the Glenmore Reservoir. The community hub would have offered residents groceries, shops and services all within steps.
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The Glenmore Landing proposal outlined a vision to transform the site from a sprawling parking lot and commercial strip mall to an attractive mixed-use, walkable residential community rich with amenities and attractive public spaces.
The development would have also saved Calgary taxpayers some of the $100's of millions that are being diverted to build new sprawl developments on the edge of the city where dwindling native ecosystems are being paved over at an alarming rate.
☮️ Building more homes is a priority across partisan lines - except for the local gatekeepers
Federal and provincial politicians of all stripes are united in their support for building more housing in cities across Canada. Unfortunately, in Calgary local housing gatekeepers on city council are standing in the way.
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Both the federal Liberal Government and the Conservative opposition have vowed to build more homes.
📋 FOR THE RECORD: How councillors voted on important housing decisions
In addition to the above vote to block 1,100 new homes at Glenmore Landing, the following city councillors also voted to:
❌ Block rezoning to legalize duplexes and row homes citywide (Sharp, Chu, Wong, Chabot, McLean, Demong)
❌ Cut $4M from the Secondary Suites / Backyard Suite incentive program (Sharp, McLean, Wong, Chu, Chabot, Demong)
❌ Cut $20M from the City-Wide Transit Oriented Development budget for affordable housing (McLean, Chu, Wyness, Chabot)
❌ Block building 50 new affordable housing homes in Bowness (Sharp, Chu, Wong, Chabot, McLean)
❌ Block building a church-led apartment development next to the C-Train on 17th Ave (Sharp, Chu, Chabot, McLean)
❌ Freeze all high-density development in Bowness and Montgomery (Sharp, Wong, Chu)
❌ Block the City from requiring suburban developers pay a fairer share of costs for new sprawl developments (Sharp, Wyness, Chu, Chabot, McLean)
⛳️ McLean found in breach of Code of Conduct for golfing with suburban developers during council meeting
Image of Councillor Dan McLean's Microsoft Teams video feed while skipping a public Council meeting to golf with suburban developers on July 26th, 2023. (Source: Jeremy Appel)
Councillor Dan McLean is in a class of his own. In January 2024, the City's Integrity Commissioner found Councillor McLean in violation of sections 9, 10, and 11, and in breach of sections 16 and 18 of the Code of Conduct for Elected Officials for attending and participating in the Shane Homes Golf Tournament during a public meeting of City Council.
