Calgary Minute: Speed Limits, Mayoral Poll, and Covid Restrictions Loosened Slightly

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

This Week In Calgary:

• Today there will be a Strategic Meeting of Council. Council will receive an update on COVID-19, consider a report on the reintroduction of water fluoridation, and decide whether to immediately reduce neighbourhood speed limits, or put the issue to a referendum of Calgarians. After reading one of the most condescending reports we've ever seen from City staff, we launched a petition to let Calgarians decide this issue via a referendum. You can read our reasoning, and sign the petition if you agree, here.
  
  
• On Wednesday there will be a meeting of the Standing Policy Committee on Planning and Urban Development. The Committee will review the controversial Guidebook for Great Communities and a North Hill Communities Local Area Plan.
  
  
• On Thursday there will be a meeting of the Calgary Planning Commission. The Commission will be reviewing a development permit in Springbank, multiple land-use amendments, and a road closure plan in Winston Heights-Mountainview.

Last Week In Calgary:

• We released the first of what are sure to be many Mayoral polls. Mayor Nenshi is yet to confirm whether or not he will run again, so we polled for multiple scenarios. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the poll results make clear that by far the biggest factor impacting the race is whether Mayor Nenshi decides to run for re-election or not. With Mayor Nenshi in the race, Calgarians can expect a tight two-way race between Mayor Nenshi and Councillor Farkas, while with Mayor Nenshi out of the race, Councillor Farkas becomes the clear favourite, with Councillor Gondek emerging as the only viable alternative.
  
  
• The City is being sued, again, by a developer who claims the City misled them about the former Highland Park golf course land that they purchased. They say the City didn't disclose information about the land's use for stormwater drainage, which will affect their development plans, and claims that the City is now deliberately delaying their project in order to potentially keep the land as a green-space permanently. Whatever happens in court, this will turn out expensive for taxpayers!
  
  
• The Province put forward a plan to re-open local restaurants and gyms next week, but there will still be many very strict limitations in place. Restaurants will be one household per table while gyms will be open only for one-on-one training sessions. The federal government also shut down travel to sunshine destinations and mandated more testing and a minimum three-day hotel stay for Canadians returning home. The hotel stays will cost travellers at least $2,000, while the flight restrictions will have major implications for Air Canada and Calgary-based WestJet.

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