Author: Amie Blanchette

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Get a rundown of the reports headed to LPT that could change the future of development in Calgary

There are several interesting reports heading to Land Use, Planning and Transportation on Wednesday December 14th. It is not an exaggeration to say these reports have the potential to significantly change the future of building and land development in our city. Here’s a brief rundown of each. The Criteria for Prioritization and Sequencing of Growth City-Wide (LPT2011-105) is a game changer. This report demonstrates how the new Framework for Growth and Change will include ranking criteria in order to guide Council decisions on growth and land use to better align with the City’s financial capacity as well as taking into account other factors like access to Transit and Social Services. As the report outlines, this process is being touted as a way to ensure decisions on new growth (whether redevelopment projects or new communities, residential or commercial) are made within a framework that allows for a “robust, consistent, repeatable, accountable and transparent process”.

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Who pays when it comes to new community development? It’s the question that gets asked again and again. So what’s the answer…?

It goes without saying it’s a complex issue. The biggest stumbling block to having useful debates is a lack of a common understanding of who currently pays for what, and how growth is currently financed. Some believe the problem simply to be a lack of money, so the easy conclusion is to get developers to pay more. But is it really that easy? What are they paying for already?

Let’s get down to some details. Perhaps this summary will help lay down a foundation for a more balanced discussion.

Simply stated; developers foot the bill for building new communities. On top of that, they also pay levies for infrastructure impacts at the regional or city-wide level.

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Their Vote is Our Future

VoteCalgary.ca is re-launching on October 18, 2011 and your first thought is, “Hey folks, newsflash; there is no municipal election this year. We don’t need VoteCalgary.ca”.

Not so fast…

While the public may not get to cast a vote this year, our City of Calgary Council certainly does. There are votes by Council throughout the year on land use applications, policy documents and planning guidelines that affect you, our Industry and ultimately all Calgarians. In other words; while it may be their vote, it’s our future.

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The Time has come for Secondary Suites in Calgary

CHBA – Calgary Region and UDI – Calgary are pleased to join with our community business partners in advocating for secondary suites in all residential areas.

As an Industry, we believe in two fundamental principles: Read more

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Open for people and open for business – platform item #1

Learn about the issues that matter most to our industry in this series of articles on our platform. CHBA – Calgary Region and UDI – Calgary believe Calgary is a great place to live and do business. Calgary is truly the heart of the new west and for years has been the place people and businesses come to open up shop and stake their claim. People come to Calgary for great job opportunities, relatively affordable houses and great lifestyle choices. Businesses come to Calgary because of the competitive tax structure, relatively affordable cost of land and real estate and our dynamic and educated work force. Somehow over the last number of years the debate about Calgary being a great place to live has changed. Rather than embracing new people, businesses and industries we see them as a strain on our infrastructure. To ensure Calgary is open for people and open for business we need a Mayor and Council that: - Enacts polices to attract new people, businesses and industries to our city. - Embraces new residents and people who want to move to our city rather than seeing them as a burden on our infrastructure and recognizes all businesses and specifically the real estate development industry as partners not adversaries. - Engage and listen to people and businesses in a meaningful way to help it set its direction. - Puts forward policies that encourage positive and sustainable growth.

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Votecalgary thanks industry for engagement

for Calgary. To echo those comments, we believe it is indeed a new day for our industry because of the positive way our industry engaged throughout the campaign. We want to start by saying thank you to our members and the many people in our industry who came to votecalgary to arm themselves with critical information and took the time to make an informed vote.

Yesterday alone we had over 13,000 visitors on votecalgary, driving the site to almost 50,000 visitors and close to 200,000 page views by end of day yesterday. That is a bold sign of our industry’s participation in this election.

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I feel like I’m going around in circles and it has nothing to do with roundabouts....

On December 10th of last year, I wrote an article for Vote Calgary that explained Council wasn’t quite ready to make the jump to making duplexes a permitted use that could bypass a lengthy and expensive permit process. Although this tool will move us closer to achieving the goals of Plan It and housing 50% of our future population within the established areas of our city, our Council wanted to take some time to ponder this move. So instead of making a decision, they put the onus on administration to go back and consult with communities to better understand their concerns. Not Industry mind you. We didn’t make the guest list. So we waited.

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Protecting consumer choice and affordability; up, out and in - platform item #2

Learn about the issues that matter most to our industry in this series of articles on our platform. Through its members, UDI - Calgary and CHBA - Calgary Region have a strong understanding of what their customers are looking for, because the success of their businesses depend on it. People express their market choices on a daily basis when they purchase a new home. The bottom line is Calgary consumers want choice, they want value and they want affordability. What they don't want is to be told what kind of home they want; they want to make that decision for themselves. As businesses, customers are at the heart of our business model and we fundamentally believe their preferences must be considered in the decisions that are made by city council. As an industry, we understand that simply continuing to build Calgary out isn't the only answer, but it is part of the answer. City Council needs to consider diversification instead of simply densification and start asking people how they want to live not telling them.   From an affordability perspective, City Council needs to recognize that their decisions ultimately impact home prices. Having said that, decisions that are made by city council are something we can influence by the candidates we elect to represent us. To protect consumer choice and affordability; up out and in we need a Mayor and Council that will:   - Develop policies that helps Calgary grow; up, out and in which meet current consumer demands while keeping an eye on the needs of the future. - Enact policies that streamline industry processes with the recognition that unnecessary time and resources spent by industry directly impacts affordability for consumers.

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Enabling and accommodating sustainable economic growth - Platform Item #3

Learn about the issues that matter most to our industry in this series of articles on our platform.

Calgary has a strong economy which has made our city the business hub of the west for many years. There are a number of factors behind Calgary's economic success story including relatively affordable land and houses, an unbreakable entrepreneurial spirit and a competitive tax structure. If Calgary is going to continue its economic success story we cannot take these factors for granted. The health of our industry and the health of the overall economy are closely tied. Our industry is a major economic driver in Calgary representing over 10% of the jobs. Conversely, sustainable growth in Calgary is critical to the future of our industry. To enable and accommodate sustainable economic growth we need a Mayor and Council that will:

- Create consistent, objective and transparent policies that provide a framework for businesses in all industries to operate under. - Prioritize its spending on quality core services such as critical infrastructure that promotes the efficient movement of people, goods and services around the City. - Commit to minimizing bureaucratic red tape and streamlining its process for dealing with our industry

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VoteCalgary welcomes new City Council

Congratulations from votecalgary.ca, CHBA – Calgary Region and UDI – Calgary to all mayoral and aldermanic candidates who ran in this municipal election. This campaign has been a testament to the democratic participation and all those who have put their name forward should be commended.

With 53% of Calgarians casting their vote on October 18, here is your new Mayor and City Council:

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