Calgary city council returns to chambers with long list of to-dos

All of Calgary city council will get together Tuesday for the first official meeting in over a month.

This fall is expected to be a busy one, with a number of pressing items on the minds of politicians and citizens alike.

There are lots of redevelopment signs around the city right now, and council plans on looking at some land-use amendments at Tuesday’s meeting. It continues to be a hot topic, and there’s almost a dozen proposals on the agenda for today.

An application for a development in Queensland, which isn’t expected to be discussed Tuesday, has received over 300 questions and concerns, according to the city. This appears to have become a common occurrence in many neighbourhoods.

Another item to keep a close eye on over the next few weeks is the Green Line LRT project, which continues to have members of council at odds with the provincial government.

Ward 3 Coun. Jasmine Mian says the province is making the project difficult, but council remains committed to serving Calgarians through the Green Line.

“It’s not about politics, it’s about good governance, it’s about delivering value for people,” she said. “I recognize that they have some differences of opinion on alignment by we have given them time and time again the information on why we need to build through the core and that we need to serve all of Calgary, both north and south.

“It’s devastating, that’s all I can say.”

Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp says she isn’t surprised council is in this position.

“It is disappointing and I know there was a lot of Calgarians that were disappointed on the 30th and there’s more Calgarians disappointed knowing that we’re still sitting here talking about this project and there’s nothing moving forward,” she said. “So, we’ve got to figure this out.

“I do feel for some of my colleagues that supported this and I have my reasons for not. But I’m not shocked that the province did what they did.”

City administration involved in the project is set to meet on Sep. 17 to discuss the next steps. Mayor Jyoti Gondek previously said council has until that day to get information into the province’s hands that could change their mind.

Water also continues to be a hot topic, as repairs on the Bearspaw South Feedermain reach the halfway point and council’s discussions on the matter are expected to continue in the coming weeks.

Daily updates from city officials on the water situation are also expected to continue until work is completed near the end of September.