2010 Calgary Civic Election issues ?

[mykalberta]

They cant. A junk food tax on Calgary would be the worst kind of tax because Calgary doesnt fund health care in the least.

The reason it works in NYC is because NYC funds healthcare.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I just want a monorail.

and an elevator made out of popsicle sticks.

and the world's largest magnifying glass, and an escalator to nowhere.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I'm not truly getting why the people that want to buy property and live downtown should get tax breaks. You bought property that you knew was more expensive or valuable because of its location, and in an assesment based tax system you knew you were going to pay a tax premium on that property., and with luck you'll profit from that decision someday.

Of course they should get tax breaks. I mean, he golfs for Christ's sake, and yet he can't figure two and two and realize the environmental travesty that are golf courses.

The legitimate complaint is about the distribution of tax dollars, you want more spending on the inner city infrastructure. That I can respect, there should be a more equitable split on projects.

This has been brought up over and over, and yet city reps keep saying that expanding communities pay for themselves. I mean, how else could it work long-term?

I think the laws are different in municipalities between the U.S. and Canada, I don't think Canadian Cities can authorize a health tax or junk food tax, and whats the city going to use a junk food tax for? Is it going to go into general revenues, because if thats how it works I'd rather have the province enact that kind of tax and funnel the money into health care initiatives, then let the city use it on unrelated projects.

Currently, the province takes about 50% of the property taxes you pay and never gives it back. Bronco has been harping about this endlessly since day one, so whenever I read one of you fine posters puzzle about "where the money goes" I wonder if they've been comatose for most of the past decade.

Currently, Canadian municipalities are extremely limited in what they can tax.

[algernon]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Airport Tunnel.

Less Urban Sprawl - or more of an infrastructure cost shift to those areas for roads, sewers, water, fire, police, ambulance, rec centres etc.

Financial Incentives for people who occupy more dense living - currently there are none.

Hold on. These are the issues I'm talking about...aren't you participating in teh flame war?

This city needs to increase density, we need more TOD projects with a sped up timeline...30 years? how about starting the Anderson TOD in 5?

Fotze, good point on commute distances. How about incentives for people who commute less/car pool? I am intrigued with London and Stockholm's Traffic management systems. Stockholm saw a 25% reduction of traffic with in the first month of implementation.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by Bunk

Aboloshing the Property tax as the main source of revenue in favour of a mix of income, consumption and other taxes. The worst kind of tax to fund government.

Agreed. No property tax. Replace it with permanent photo radar cameras on deerfoot.

//puts on flame proof suit

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by algernon

Hold on. These are the issues I'm talking about...aren't you participating in teh flame war?

Everyone on this site knows who FirstLady is and who she works/volunteer for or whatever.

That was the reason for my comment. If your comment was meant in gest there is green text or smiley faces to indicate such.

It would be as if Troutman or another lawyer made a thread and I commented in a negative sense about them being lawyers. My general distaste for lawyers aside, I wouldnt post that without the green text or smiley face if I posted it at all.

[algernon]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Everyone on this site knows who FirstLady is and who she works/volunteer for or whatever.

That was the reason for my comment. If your comment was meant in gest there is green text or smiley faces to indicate such.

It would be as if Troutman or another lawyer made a thread and I commented in a negative sense about them being lawyers. My general distaste for lawyers aside, I wouldnt post that without the green text or smiley face if I posted it at all.

I was totally joking.

On density:
I wonder if the City could force things along a bit regarding the East Village? How about no more suburban development until the East Village is built up?
It's a shame that the area is all parking lots, with a world class facility (Cantos) on the way.

What ever happened to the proposal with the canals a few years back?

[Bill Bumface]

Page 2, no mention of unnamed structures that people use to cross bodies of water on foot or bicycles. Well done CP.

Sprawl is a big one for me.

The property tax system: It sucks, but if you own a place with huge taxes, you're probably making a decent amount of money, and people that make more money pay more taxes.

8th ave LRT tunnel. Get on it before things are so far past capacity you are discouraging ridership.

New communities pay some kind of levy for every parcel of land to help cover costs. Making buying in the middle of nowhere less attractive.

Toll booths for all those people coming in from Cochrane/Airdrie/Okotoks for using our roads/subsidized transit without paying for it.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by fotze

That assumes everyone works downtown. Not so. If you like in Tuscany and work in Crowfoot or from home, that is no different from living in Sunnyside and working in Sunnyside.

Also commuting isn't necessarily the only way to judge your cost to the city. Also, your burden to society has never been related to your tax bill. i.e. income tax, WDF does that have to do with what you cost the society?

The municipal tax system is unfair but so is every tax system.

Yeah but not every tax system artificially favours one consumer choice over another.

Originally Posted by Shazam

This will disappoint a lot of people, but suburban communities actually do pay for themselves. And infrastructure downtown is constantly updated.

How about far flung but really old suburbs like Canyon Meadows, Lakeview, Bonavista and Silver Springs? Do they get tax breaks too?

Actually they don't. They do partially, but that pretty much means that they don't. And yeah, suburbs that are paid for already should also pay less than brand new communities.

Originally Posted by Shazam

This has been brought up over and over, and yet city reps keep saying that expanding communities pay for themselves. I mean, how else could it work long-term?

It won't. It works for the developers, but it doesn't work for the city or for buyers. That's why the city needs to do something about it. You think forever expanding outwards is sustainable?

[SeeGeeWhy]

Some things about calgary that bug me off the top of my head.

1. Crime - gang related violence needs to be eliminated, period.

2. Urban planning - Calgary is severely impacted by Alberta's boom and bust economy. City planners should have a flexible plan that anticipates what can be done to take advantage of the next boom, and then improve the model as we learn from it. Simply ignoring this force of economic nature and allowing sprawl upon sprawl is not an effective or sustainable response to boom/bust environment, and it will kill our city if it continues.

3. Education - schools are moving out to the edge of the city along with the clusters of affordable starter homes. It puts a strain on CBE resources and just creates a spiral effect that encourages the sprawl model of growth. Not sure there is a solution to this other than making it easier for starter homes to exist somewhere other than the edge of the city limits.

4. Support for Small business - continue to use economic development zones to create "common thread" retail areas (shopping meccas) that encourage growth in trendy and/or developing areas, apply similar concept to industrial type businesses.

5. More City participation in Public Private Partnerships - encourage inner city gentrification by taking an equity position in "risky" developments that traditional model developers refuse to take on. Creates the right incentive for city to write by-laws that allow for gentrification and allows for profit opportunity for the city when projects are completed.

6. Secondary suite regulation - higher density needs to be encouraged, no question. Just put the proposed changes through already.

7. Cultural development - More parks, incentives to establish festivals in the summer/more co-operation to expand existing events (salsa fest, lilac fest). Continue doing good things with Stampede.

8. Environmental remediation - There are many environmental time bombs in our city, right under our noses. Why are they swept under the rug? Landfills are a problem in Calgary. The recycling program is finally getting legs going, but could be expanded. Continue to strive for high quality water infrastructure.

9. Revenue model - property tax system is busted and again contributes to the sprawl model of growth.

10. Civic disengagement - there is a very low level of participation in civic matters in calgary... why is this? I think it is because people are very much set up to just work, then drive home and not enjoy this place we call home with one another. There has to be a solution to this apathy... do I want riots on the street about every little thing? No, but Calgary is sort of a faceless place and people just come here to make money then go back to where ever "home" is. That attitude is written all over the culture here and it is tragic.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by Shazam

This will disappoint a lot of people, but suburban communities actually do pay for themselves. And infrastructure downtown is constantly updated.

How about far flung but really old suburbs like Canyon Meadows, Lakeview, Bonavista and Silver Springs? Do they get tax breaks too?

I live in Inglewood. What has the city done to improve the infrastructure around my community? Nothing.

Meanwhile, my property value is sky high, but where is that tax money going? It's going into a collective pool that is used to support infrastructure around the city, 90% of which I will rarely be able to take advantage of.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

8th ave LRT tunnel. Get on it before things are so far past capacity you are discouraging ridership.

IMO, we're already there. Try getting on at Heritage in the middle of rush hour. How is TOD like London supposed to work when the trains are already full?

(Four car trains will help though.)

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy

2. Urban planning - Calgary is severely impacted by Alberta's boom and bust economy. City planners should have a flexible plan that anticipates what can be done to take advantage of the next boom, and then improve the model as we learn from it. Simply ignoring this force of economic nature and allowing sprawl upon sprawl is not an effective or sustainable response to boom/bust environment, and it will kill our city if it continues.

This is a major issue as far as I'm concerned. I've seen a fair number of places in the world, and what I see trending in Calgary bothers me. The urban development practices in Calgary are stuck in the 1950s, and are contributing to a massive resource strain in this city. Bronconnier allowed developers to have free reign over how this city is built and it's going to make life miserable if we're not careful. As an example, new communities can push back on a developer about a certain issue. The developer makes one phone call to the general manager of new communities and bam, the planner is forced by city management to acquiesce to the wants of the developer.

[algernon]

Originally Posted by kermitology

I live in Inglewood. What has the city done to improve the infrastructure around my community? Nothing.

Meanwhile, my property value is sky high, but where is that tax money going? It's going into a collective pool that is used to support infrastructure around the city, 90% of which I will rarely be able to take advantage of.

No kidding.

Interchanges are $100 million+, if I'm not mistaken. Correct me if I'm wrong.

What would $100 million invested into the inner city look like?
I'm guessing that you could build a lot of pathways/park upgrades/community centre and school renovations with that kind of capital.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by algernon

I was totally joking.

On density:
I wonder if the City could force things along a bit regarding the East Village? How about no more suburban development until the East Village is built up?
It's a shame that the area is all parking lots, with a world class facility (Cantos) on the way.

What ever happened to the proposal with the canals a few years back?

There's a ton of stuff going on in the East Village. The old plan with the canals was scrapped. In 2005 the City passed a revised Area Redevelopment Plan. Subsequently, they worked with the Province to change legislation that would allow a "tax increment finance" to develop the community. Basically they borrowed about $200 million to finance all the improvements such as raising the ground above the floodplain, develop riverwalk, fix up St. Patrick's Island and build a new bridge, pay for the 4th street SE underpass, build new streetscapes, new parks and so on. All this construction on infrastructure is happening as we speak. The development of East Village is being handled by an arm's length development corporation created by the City called that Calgary Municipal Land Corporation - CMLC. You can read all about them here: www.calgarymlc.ca

Video of the masterpan: http://www.calgarymlc.ca/rivers_proj...village_video/

There is also a big marketing element to the East Village, through sites like this: that explain the master plan, infrastructure going in and so forth.

www.evexperience.com

CMLC hired consultants from London - Broadway Malyan to come up with a Master Plan for the community. This was completed last year.

Currently CMLC is continue to prepare the land so it can be developed but is also actively marketing lands to sell off to private sector developers. These sales will have conditions in place to ensure they develop as envisioned in the master plan and in a timely manner. I would expect the first land sales to start this year. Developers will then design projects, gain approvals, market and then construct. I would expect the first shovels in the ground for new condos in about 2 years - and then it just goes from there. Many of the infrastructure projects will be more or less complete in a couple of years (such as Riverwalk, 4th Street underpass) but others will probably be ongoing for several more years.

I love the way it is being done. It will be a fantastic area in Calgary.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Bunk

CMLC hired consultants from London - Broadway Malyan to come up with a Master Plan for the community. This was completed last year.

Oh great, another latte sipping European sticking their nose in our business. Is this Calatrava's buddy and he got him the job?

Couldn't a Calgarian have come up with a world class master plan for half the price?

Put it out to highschool students for a competition.

Get off my lawn!

[kermitology]

THEY TOOK OUR JEEERBBBSS

[Slava]

Originally Posted by First Lady

I'd like to take the pulse of CP in regards to the issues for the upcoming civic election.

What are your top two or three issues that you feel the aldermanic and mayoralty candidates should be addressing?

So are we going to see your name on the ballot for something?

What issues are you targeting as the top two or three for this years election?

[stampsx2]

1) Will make/keep our downtown safe and clean
2) SW ring road (soon)
3) Will encourage Urban Sprawl
4) SE LRT
5) Fix MacLeod - too many lights/ unnecessary side streets intersecting

[Tron_fdc]

For the love of all things holy,

Fix Glenmore and 37 Street SW.

Build a bridge, build a tunnel, build a slingshot I don't care. But fix it, and connect the ringroad.