So it would appear that Diane Colley-Urquhart doesn’t like Jeremy very much and won’t talk to him (See his story on Plan It in last week’s issue). But she likes me! I chatted with her about Plan It and the motion put forward by her and three other aldermen to delay it until the fall (see news notes ) the other day. For those of you who might be curious how she feels about Calgary’s 60-year sustainable growth plan here is what she had to say about PlanIt:
"The bottom line is that there are those on council who don’t want to have any more suburban growth. I represent the suburbs and believe that people should have the choice of owning their own home with the white picket fence and not be forced into living high-rises and condos downtown."
"I think if we are creative and find a way to finance growth that we should be able to continue to do both (build suburbs and high-rises) but the way Plan It was written it puts people in an either/or situation."
And the best for last:
"It’s an absolute myth to think it’s cheaper to live downtown and in high-rises than in the suburbs. Families can’t afford to live in the inner city just look at the real estate prices and the taxes people pay in the inner city."
