Bunk, I have a question. As you know from my previous posts, while I give Nenshi a lot of credit for being very intelligent and entertaining, I am not a fan of Nenshi as our Mayor for the reasons I've stated a few times. But you offered your services here as a conduit to him and I would like to take you up on this offer.
Question is about Shawnee Slopes: Two "gamblers" without any meaningful land development or homebuilding experience buy the 50-yer old established golf course as a land speculation game and re-zone it to a massive 1,700-unit new district against all odds. Flipping it practically next day after the third reading of the by-law to Cardel Homes for a huge profit. I sat through the two days of the public hearing listening to hundreds of people pleading their case to Council and asking not to take away what it had not given. Not to reap the heart out of the community they lived in and loved for so long. Not to allow 1,200 (!) new condos on the land where an adjacent 80-unit Highbury project is struggling to sell-out for 7 years now. Not to destroy a mature, majestic and precious urban green space. Not to add to already horrible traffic issues at James McKevitt/Bannister/Macleod.
Throughout the hearing, Mayor was all ears, understanding, encouraging and compassionate to the concerns. Nobody spoke in favour of this approval (except for the developer). And yet Nenshi supported it anyway. None of the community concerns have been acknowledged in the resulting amendment other then some meaningless lip service.
How does the Mayor explain his position on supporting this application against the will of the entire community? I am really interested in his response and would appreciate if you can convey the question to him directly. Thank you very much.
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