Calgary Minute: Property Taxes, Foxtail Barley, and a Transit Safety Crisis

Calgary Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Calgary politics

This Week In Calgary:

• On Tuesday, at 9:30 am, there will be a Strategic Meeting of Council. All of the agenda items are confidential, including an update on YYC Matters - an information-based campaign that assesses where the provincial parties stand on Calgary-centric ahead of the May election.
  
  
• The Executive Committee will meet on Wednesday at 9:30 am. The Committee will discuss a request for a $10 million loan to the Calgary Stampede as well as amendments to the Temporary Signs Bylaw to address election sign complaints. Councillor Evan Spencer will bring forward a Notice of Motion to address the proliferation of foxtail barley, a perennial plant species that poses a danger to animals, particularly dogs.
  
  
• The Calgary Planning Commission will meet on Thursday at 1:00 pm. On the agenda are a few land use amendments.

Last Week In Calgary:

• Council passed the Safe and Inclusive Access Bylaw which would prohibit “specified protests” within 100 metres of the entrances to (or inside of) public libraries, city-owned recreation facilities, and city-affiliated recreation centres. Council voted 10-5 to pass the bylaw with Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Councillors Jasmine Mian, Raj Dhaliwal, Richard Pootmens, Terry Wong, Courtney Walcott, Gian-Carlo Carra, Kourtney Penner, Evan Spencer, and Peter Demong voting in favour. Councillors Andre Chabot, Dan McLean, Jennifer Wyness, Sonya Sharp, and Sean Chu were opposed. The Canadian Constitution Foundation said they may challenge the new bylaw in court.
  
  
• We started a petition calling on Council to declare a transit safety emergency. The rampant and open drug use, stabbings, slashings, and other violent attacks are causing Calgarians to avoid transit altogether. It only took eight minutes after publication of our petition (yes, seriously!) to have another incident occur - a stabbing at the 4th Street LRT station. If you agree that Council needs to do something about the rise in crime on public transit, please sign the petition.
  
  
• Council “adjusted” property taxes. Calgary homeowners will see an increase in their municipal taxes for 2023 - taxes were supposed to go up 2.22%, but they're now going up by 5.58% instead, resulting in an average increase of $15 per month or $179 for the year for an average homeowner with a home valued at $555,000.

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