Occasionally, I get fired-up with the ‘urban sprawl extremists’ in Calgary. You know that group of individuals who have their own formula that suggests they’re paying for growth in Calgary. They like to argue against Calgary city council approving more new suburban neighborhoods. I wouldn’t be as annoyed with them since I typically ignore their theatrics, except this time. Now the crusade against complete communities with a variety of home types, businesses, job opportunities and more; are relegated to the climate change emergency category. Yes, the ‘go to’ reason to halt progress anywhere..My background has been in home building and land development for over 32 years. We’re a small but proud industry in Calgary, which combined with our colleagues around the province, directly or indirectly employ over 120,000 people. We are part of the third largest industry contributing to the provincial GDP and labor force, with an average of some 29,000 homes being built in the province each year. That includes everything from single-family homes with attached or detached garages, condominiums and apartments, to town homes and semi-detached homes..Shortly after I started my career, I had to learn to take this criticism as the ‘sprawl extremists’ reared their heads. I recall the first time I was confronted at an arts event by a lady who told me I should be ashamed for destroying precious farmland. I was taken back since I knew that the farmers who held that land for generations had anticipated selling it for development as the city grew. This was their ‘golden nest-egg’ for retirement, or provided them the means to take the opportunity to move further away from the city and start over. The next morning, when I mentioned this to my father and some developers at a meeting, I learned this type of attitude was common. In fact, I began to learn more about how important suburbia was to Calgarians wanting a new home, and how much suburbia contributes to the economy by way of taxes, jobs, opportunities, and economic growth..I could talk about the development costs, but I am limited to so many words and my friend Myke Thomas has already written about it extensively for the Western Standard. In fact, his insight into some planners and the arrogance they have shown towards city growth and their outdated sprawl ideology would leave readers stunned. Yes, you pay their salary, and they’ll tell you how to live..So where am I going with this? To restore affordability, Canada's 3.5 million housing unit gap needs to be addressed and quickly! Alberta alone could easily be short 20,000 homes already with a need for almost one million plus homes, as projections suggest our province could double in population to nine million people over the next 25 years. I would rather be ahead than behind, wouldn’t you? That is a lot of homes to make up for when the yearly capacity to build is 29,000. That speaks to an unnecessary housing crisis! And, with costs growing unabated, we are watching affordability erode, all for the satisfaction of a few..As I mentioned, I’ve seen it happen too many times when these ‘extremists’ rattle the chains of city councilors, administration, and media in their fight against suburban neighborhoods. In years past, the argument was that the inner-city was paying for suburban growth. How? when everything contained in a new subdivision is paid for by the homeowners who purchase there? Millions of dollars in lot levies are pre-paid to the municipality. And, dedications of parkland, school sites and environmental reserves are forfeit without compensation to the developer. The service connections need to be added, and upgrades to those services are made by the city, but the end user pays for that through property taxes at the same rate as everyone else..Now these same extremists argue against new suburban neighborhoods on the premise of climate change. Yet, new suburbia is much more efficient, walkable, and environmentally conscious with their streetlights, community gardens, essential services, shopping and more in the area. There have already been innovations in every product in the homes, from HVAC, to windows, insulation, and air quality. If the individuals arguing against suburbia would like to do something for the environment, they could consider subdividing their own lot so they could become as dense as the new communities. Or, they could upgrade their homes to be as efficient as the new homes. Maybe that idea should become policy or better yet become law after 30 years of living on that large lot..So, the next time one of the ‘anti-sprawl extremists’ tries to intrude their opinion into the way you and your family want to live, here are a few questions to ask them. Where do you live? Do you own or rent? What are the costs to re-develop in the inner-city or beltline in Calgary (No, it is not $0)? Or, my favorite; When was the last time you visited suburbia? Most couldn’t answer these questions; at least not honestly!.Fact always outweighs fiction.
