 | Saturday, May 08, 2021
By Scott Dippel
Reading this online? Sign up to get this delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. | | Guidebook debate reaches boiling point | | |  | This week's public hearing on the city's new Guide for Local Area Plans got a little heated when Coun. Joe Magliocca, right, accused Mayor Naheed Nenshi of acting like "a pitbull." .(CBC) | | | After months of bitterness over the Guidebook for Great Communities (recently rebranded as the Guide for Local Area Plans), the matter will not be voted on by city council.
Following another lengthy public hearing on Wednesday when 83 people spoke, city council's planning committee voted seven to five to accept the amended document for information and direct administration to use the guide in developing future local area plans.
A motion to send it to a full council vote was defeated.
Ward 11 Coun. Jeromy Farkas called it “improper” for a committee to do this without sending it to council for a final vote.
In closing the debate, Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the spat over the guide was fuelled by misinformation and blamed political candidates in an election year for riling up people on an issue neither they nor council understand: planning principles.
The guide doesn't ruin neighbourhoods, Nenshi said, nor will it result in trees being torn down, as some presenters asserted at the public hearings.
"That was never actually the case and I've been hearing over and over again that the guidebook is just a list of best practices. And in fact, council shouldn't be voting on best practices because, what do we know?" said the mayor.
That set off Ward 2 Coun. Joe Magliocca. He accused Nenshi of turning "into a pitbull" and ignoring the people who oppose the guide.
"I don't care what you say," yelled Magliocca. "Ninety per cent of the people do not want this and you're fighting with them."
Nenshi loudly rejected that charge. He said that during council's public hearing in March, it was more like 55 per cent of speakers were opposed, and the amendments brought forward addressed most of their concerns.
During a virtual scrum the next day, Nenshi took the blame for the ongoing battle over the guide. He said it was his fault that a planning document morphed into a bigger political hot potato.
Even though it's now officially off the council table, the bitterness lingers. Ward 13 Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart, who saw her motion to refer the issue to council defeated by her colleagues, tweeted on Thursday, "It was a manipulative process to bury it at committee.”
More ominously, she also tweeted, "This isn't over."
Read more. | | |  | Kourtney Branagan, who is running for councillor in Ward 11, has come up with a new way to campaign during a pandemic. She is hosting a series of virtual candidate conversations. (Kourtney Branagan) | Something different on the campaign trail | Seeing how this year's municipal election will be the first one in a century to be held during a pandemic, candidates will have to change the ways they campaign.
Like dozens of other candidates, Kourtney Branagan, who is running for councillor in Ward 11, is dropping her campaign literature in mailboxes. Due to the pandemic, she's not door knocking, which can bother some voters.
However, she's also organizing something called "conversations among candidates.” It brings together five to seven candidates from different wards to virtually meet each other and discuss issues. Voters can watch the sessions live or later on, as the events are being webcast.
Branagan said some of the participating candidates may be on the next city council so this is about building relationships.
"The majority of the topics that come before council aren't necessarily ward specific, they are about the city as a whole," said Branagan.
"I have this belief that creating relationships is the foundation of trust, and then when you have that, when you get to know each other, you can work better."
She said candidates have time to do this now because they'll be much more focused on the wards they're running in when September and October arrive.
The first “conversations among candidates” session was held in April, and you can watch it here. The next one is coming up on May 10, and there's another one slated for June 7.
Are you a candidate trying new ways to reach voters during a pandemic? If so, drop me a line. | | | | |  | The High Park public space on the roof of the City Centre parkade. (Dave Gilson/CBC) | Pandemic parking | Council held a special meeting this past Monday to hear annual reports from various city boards, committees and commissions. Lots of data and year end reporting took place.
The Calgary Parking Authority — as you could imagine during a pandemic — had a not-so-great year. Its parkades and parking lots sit mostly empty.
The top level of its City Centre parkade behind Gulf Canada Square has been converted to High Park, an amenity for the Beltline.
To show flexibility, Shahid Qureshi from the parking authority told council that it has introduced a new flex pass for its downtown lots. Parkers can buy a fixed price bundle of 10 daily parking sessions at its parkades. Some downtown workers may only be going to the core infrequently these days, so this might be an option for them, he explained.
The CPA added some new ParkPlus clients during 2020, like the Jubilee Auditorium and the University District. As well, its software service is being used in municipalities such as Edmonton, Red Deer, Kelowna and Saskatoon.
Meanwhile, there's no word on the search for a new general manager for CPA. The former GM and two other managers at the city agency were fired last December for undisclosed reasons.
Naturally, less parking demand last year hurt revenues. The CPA put $6.1 million into city coffers during 2020. That's far below the $24 million contribution that council had budgeted. Its newest facility, the $80 million Ninth Avenue S.E. parkade in East Village, will be opening soon, following years of construction. | |  | A new, 80,000 square foot film studio is being proposed for the city's southeast. (City of Calgary) | Coming soon? | There were a couple of projects before the Calgary Planning Commission this week that we may hear more about in the near future.
Calgary's film industry is having a banner year. There was an application for a land use redesignation at an industrial site on Calgary's eastern boundary for a new motion picture studio. It would be just east of Stoney Trail, between 61st Avenue and Glenmore Trail S.E.
At about 80,000 square feet, this facility would be bigger than the existing Calgary Film Centre, which is fully booked for the year.
The numbered company applicant said in its submission that "it is essential that construction of this facility commence this summer in order to accommodate a major tenant." The land use change will go to council on May 31.
Also, Irish company DP Energy has applied for a land use change for another large scale solar farm in the southeast.
It would be located on a former phosphogypsum (a fertilizer byproduct) site along 52nd Street, south of 114th Avenue S.E. The plan is to set up 2,000 solar panels on the vacant land, which would generate 36 megawatts of electricity for Alberta's grid.
The company already has approvals for a similar solar farm nearby on Barlow Trail, north of 114th Avenue S.E. | | | 3 more municipal stories you shouldn't miss | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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