<p>On Tuesday July 25th, 2023, Calgary’s City Council will vote on amendments as part of bylaw IP2023-0559. These amendments will affect the <a href="https://pub-calgary.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=245475">Municipal Development Plan</a> and several <a href="https://pub-calgary.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=245476">Area Structure Plans</a>, which is the framework used to approve the creation of new communities. Even though the current framework has a lot of shortcomings, the new one is just as bad. The proposed changes are based on the assumptions that the real estate industry needs more public funding, that the growth within the existing established area is not feasible and that new communities have no socio-environmental costs. As we saw in the three episodes of the series, none of this is true.</p> <p>What can you do?<br>1) Contact Mayor Jyoti Gondek as well as the councillor for your ward and ask them not to vote the amendments, and on the contrary, implement a moratorium on new communities.</p> <p><strong>E-mail addresses for Members of City Council</strong><br><a href="mailto:[email protected]">Mayor Jyoti Gondek</a><br>Ward 1: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Sonya Sharp</a><br>Ward 2: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Jennifer Wyness</a><br>Ward 3: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Jasmine Mian</a><br>Ward 4: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Sean Chu</a><br>Ward 5: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Raj Dhaliwal</a><br>Ward 6: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Richard Pootmans</a><br>Ward 7: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Terry Wong</a><br>Ward 8: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Courtney Walcott</a><br>Ward 9: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Gian-Carlo Carra</a><br>Ward 10: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Andre Chabot</a><br>Ward 11: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Kourtney Penner</a><br>Ward 12: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Evan Spencer</a><br>Ward 13: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Dan McLean</a><br>Ward 14: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Peter Demong </a><br><a href="https://www.calgary.ca/council/findyourcouncillor.html">Find who your Councillor is</a></p> <p>2) Make a submission to all members of Council <a href="https://forms.calgary.ca/content/forms/af/public/public/public-submission-to-city-clerks.html">on the website of the City of Calgary</a> to expose your views on the issue</p> <p>3) Speak at the July 25th public hearing, virtually or in person. You can also register <a href="https://forms.calgary.ca/content/forms/af/public/public/public-submission-to-city-clerks.html">on the website of the City of Calgary</a>. The Calgary Climate Hub will participate, then can give you support and coach you if you are unsure about what to expect. You can contact them directly <a href="mailto:[email protected]">by email</a> and let them know that you wish to speak and that you would need their help.</p> <p><em>Calgary: A Sprawling Obsession</em> is a podcast created as part of the 2022-2023 edition of the Canadian Wilderness Stewardship Program, managed by the <a href="https://cpaws.org/">Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society</a>.</p> <p>Music credits:</p> <ul> <li>Autumn forest, by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/olexy-25300778/">Olexy</a></li> </ul> <p>The picture used for the podcast cover is from <a href="https://unsplash.com/@kellyhofer">Kelly Hoffer</a>.</p>