Mayor Naheed Nenshi is frustrated with the lack of movement on secondary suites in Calgary.
There’s no shortage of issues to keep city council occupied. Transit. Food. Emergency services. Or for the 33rd time since 2005 secondary suites.
Expectations were exceedingly high for the December 15 vote to establish a solid framework on the matter; Mayor Naheed Nenshi had stated that the motion wouldn’t legalize backyard or basement suites but would put council on a path towards that goal.
But a powerful voting bloc — one that Nenshi attempted to break up in the final days before the meeting — emerged victorious defeating the proposal 8-7. Franco Savoia director of Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) chalks the verdict up to misunderstanding while acknowledging that each councillor had a different rationale.
“We’ve got to do a better job of educating” he says. “There’s disappointment and sadness. But you know what? We’re going to keep at it.”
Savoia notes that some positives emerged from the failed motion. More Calgarians are aware of the situation: Calgarians for Secondary Suites a group VCC supports received backing letters from 3000 individuals and 50 organizations. There’s the prospect that a pilot project will be tested in four wards. The momentum’s there for a shift he suggests.
“Let’s not drop our heads” says Savoia. “We elected our city council. If we keep working at it we will get there. More Calgarians were educated. More are aware of this. We’ve just got to keep going. The worst thing we could do is drop our hands and say ‘to hell with it.’ That would be the very worst thing.”
