Yet another lawsuit could be launched against the City of Calgary because of a high-density development proposed for Calgary’s west end community of Springbank Hill. The development is a 42-unit townhome project on land once approved for 16 single-family homes. In a letter sent to city council, a group of local residents said they want a public hearing scheduled for September 9 to be postponed until after the October 20 election. If not, the group, Concerned Residents of Springbank Hill, says it will launch legal action arguing they have had no representation on council since Ward 6 Councillor Richard Pootmans resigned last fall due to health concerns, adding the development will bring excessive density, traffic, parking issues, and shadowing impacts. It would join lawsuits by a citizen group in the community of Richmond Knob Hill fighting high density levels on the site of the former Viscount Bennett school; one against city-wide blanket upzoning, and; another in Marda Loop for extended construction delays. A potential lawsuit by businesses on Stephen Avenue was avoided after construction was moved to the fall. The letter sent to council from Concerned Residents of Springbank Hill is a last resort, said Sara Austin, a member of the group, adding it has spent months trying to get council to move the matter to after the election. .The group is absolutely correct, but council could take one bigger step forward, a giant leap perhaps, and cancel all of its meetings between now and until after the election. There are too many items the new council will be facing, a great deal of them dealing with land use and developments, as well as ongoing council business. And a new council it will be, with a minimum of six seats vacated by current councillors (including Pootmans’ Ward 6 seat) and filled by fresh new faces. It makes the current version a lame duck council, and councillors who are known to be leaving (Carra, Demong, Walcott, Spencer, and Mian. Maybe more. Nomination deadline is September 22) should not be voting on issues, particularly development issues, that will have ramifications on the city and Calgarians for years to come. Calgary city council has the authority to adjust, postpone, or suspend its regular weekly meetings, by going through a formal process, outlined in Calgary’s Procedure Bylaw 35M2017 which governs how council may cancel or revise meetings. The Procedure bylaw sets the rules for scheduling, notice, and cancellation of meetings, allowing council, by resolution, to cancel or reschedule meetings. .Here’s the exact language from Calgary’s Procedure Bylaw that governs how council may cancel or revise meetings: Additions or changes to meetings scheduled on the council calendar: (1) Council and Council Committee meeting dates and changes thereto, including cancellations or revisions, must be determined with input from the city clerk, to minimize conflict and ensure proper notification of the public. (2) Council or council committees may cancel or revise their respective meetings, or schedule additional meeting dates or times as required, by a vote of the body, in consultation with the city clerk. The city clerk must provide notice of the changes or additions as noted in section 22. (3) A scheduled meeting may be cancelled by the chair in consultation with the city clerk, if the deadline for agenda submissions has passed, and there is no time-sensitive business to bring to that meeting. There is a notification requirement, from the City of Calgary’s website, https://www.calgary.ca. A minimum of 24 hours' notice is required to schedule a special meeting or reschedule/cancel a published meeting. If a meeting is called with less than 24 hours of notice, written consent from two-thirds of council members (10 members) is required. .The bottom line is council can cancel or revise meetings either by a majority vote (resolution) or by the chair, but only in consultation with the city clerk, and when there's no urgent or time-sensitive business. All such changes must also be publicly noticed, with at least 24 hours' lead time, unless an emergency or special circumstances apply, otherwise, a two-thirds written consent is needed. If meetings are suspended or cancelled, public notice typically has to be provided, since council meetings are meant to be open to the public. In an electoral context, in practice, most municipal councils in Alberta reduce or suspend meetings in the weeks immediately before a civic election to avoid major decisions being made by an outgoing council and to allow councillors running for re-election to campaign. The wheels at city hall don’t stop turning, as essential city business doesn’t stop. Urgent matters can still be handled through special meetings of council, such by council’s executive committee, delegated authority to the mayor or administration, or the first meeting of the new council after the election. Council did not meet the entire month of August and Calgarians and the city itself survived quite nicely. At the very least, council should move all land use and development business decisions to after the election, when blanket upzoning will be debated and possibly repealed, which will affect land and development issues.
