On Monday, October 19, the Priorities and Finance Committee heard 11 business cases for new development around the edges of Calgary that would add nearly 13,000 single or semi-detached homes and almost 7,000 multi-family dwellings. They heard that approving these developments would add $23 million in annual costs for the city, equivalent to a 1.5 per cent tax increase for every Calgarian.

They heard that there are already 41 new communities approved for development. They heard administration's recommendation not to approve these business cases. They heard from the firefighters that there is no way to service these suburbs with existing resources. 

And they heard from you!

You wrote submissions, you spoke passionately, you tweeted and you contacted your councillors, raising your voices to ask for investment in existing communities, to consider the social, environmental and economic costs of continued sprawl, and to apply the climate lens. 

Thank you for your commitment and your time. 

The final decision will now go to a council meeting on November 2. We ask that you continue to apply pressure against these developments which are not needed, and which will result in even more cuts come budget discussions in November. Council simply cannot claim to be fiscally responsible and approve these developments. 

You can read more in this article from CBC: Plan to add 11 new communities to Calgary's outskirts coming to council

What you can do:

Write or phone your City Councillor - Please email your city councillor. See below for the appropriate email addresses.

Post to social media - Use the hashtag #yyccc and include your city councillor (see list below for your councillors’ Twitter information). This will be especially important on October 19th, however posts prior to this date also have an impact. You can write your own message and/or share posts from the Hub's social media accounts which can be found on Facebook and Twitter @calgaryclimatehub.

Image credit: Southeast Stoney Trail overpass, Government of Alberta, Flikr Creative Commons