Two Calgary city councillors want a vast review of infrastructure in two northwest communities, along with a ban on further density in the area until that’s done.
Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp and Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong have co-sponsored a Notice of Motion that’s coming to Calgary’s Executive Committee meeting on Nov. 7, calling for a review of water infrastructure, along with roads, parks and green spaces, all in response to recent water main breaks in the area, including June’s massive Bearspaw South
In the interim, while waiting for an assessment, the pair want a “temporary hold” on certain new residential development permit applications. They want new residential permits for projects over four unit and submitted after Aug. 26, in the communities of Bowness and Montgomery, to be paused.
Coun. Sharp said that the underlying cause of the initial Bearspaw South water feeder main failure is unclear, and there are concerns that risks remain with other nearby water infrastructure.
“I’m committed to ensuring that Calgarians have reliable, safe infrastructure, and part of that commitment means pausing high-density developments until we understand the full picture,” said Sharp, in a prepared media release.
“I’m not going to wait for Administration or a third-party consultant to deliver a report any longer. We need proactive solutions. This assessment and the temporary hold on some types of new development would give us the insights we need to move forward in a way that protects our communities and maintains transparency and accountability.”
Wong and Sharp are looking for a comprehensive infrastructure assessment, along with a review of economic, social and budgetary impacts of densification upon aging Bowness and Montgomery. They also want interim updates on their findings.
Conflating issues?
Both Coun. Sharp and Coun. Wong voted against Calgary’s citywide rezoning, which would see the base residential zoning changed to R-CG, allowing density to move ahead without the need for a land-use change.
During the public hearing, many folks from Bowness and Montgomery stepped forward to tell their story of how ill-planned density impacted their neighbourhoods.
In a blog post done shortly after this Notice of Motion was added to the public agenda, advocacy group More Neighbours Calgary said this was an attempt to induce exclusionary zoning for these areas.
“In Sharp and Wong’s notice of motion, they single out Bowness and Montgomery for special treatment, and propose to stop all redevelopment of any kind larger than a rowhouse. Not only that, but they put a very indefinite timeline on the whole process (after infrastructure is upgraded), which might be on the order of decades,” the post read.
“It seems that Councillors Sharp and Wong are drawing on the fear and confusion of the unfortunate watermain break and repair work this summer to stifle meaningful development and refusing to have any nuanced conversation about housing need in these communities.”
Coun. Wong said they're not conflating the two issues. This is a question of pipe condition, and how additional density may be impacting that condition. It's a regular question he and Coun. Sharp have heard from area residents since the Bearspaw feeder main breach.
"Are they because of that pressure of demand, going up and down? Is it because of development coming, new development coming on stream?" Wong told LWC.
"That was the question that was put by the constituents. That was the reason why we had the question."
Ultimately, Wong wants to know if the breaks are because of the ground (clay fill or being near the river bed), or because of the demand.
"We don't want to have a loss of service. We don't want to have such a situation where we don't have a good risk management plan, right? Ultimately, we want to ensure public safety," Wong said.
"So, we're asking a question about the infrastructure side, but at the same time, we need to understand is development contributing to it."
Coun. Sonya Sharp posted a response on X (formerly Twitter) to a citizen pushing the issue of exclusionary zoning.
Coun. Wong also said they're not asking for a total ban on density, only bigger, multi-family type developments, beyond that of rowhouses.
Review of Bearspaw break is already underway
The City of Calgary has ordered a third-party investigation into the Bearspaw water feeder main. The City also began its forensic review of the summertime pipe failure, and its handling of the situation. A substantive update was supposed to be provided in late October. That didn't happen.
Mayor Gondek said last week she was frustrated there was little value in the interim update. During an event Tuesday, Mayor Gondek said she was hoping some of the information being sought by Couns. Wong and Sharp would have started to come out in that update.
"The questions that are being posed in that notice of motion, those things should be covered off in the incident review, and because we don't have one, I would imagine that's why this is being brought forward," the mayor said.
As for the impact density has on infrastructure, Mayor Gondek said it's a question they must face as they try to keep pace with growth.
"I think it's an important conversation where we are going to be asking our experts in not only the planning department but also in infrastructure, the kinds of things that they do to make sure that we can keep pace with the growth that we're seeing," Mayor Gondek said.
"We've got more than 200 people moving here every day. We've got to be able to house them somewhere, and so it's important to look at how we're going to do that and make sure that our infrastructure is as strong as we need it to be."
Coun. Wong said that the difference between the city's forensic review and this one is that they're looking for something more concentrated. Plus, they're expanding it to include other corollary infrastructure like roads, sidewalks, parks and more.
