From tax cancellation to temporary sign rules

There’s only a handful of city council meetings left before the summer break but there’s still plenty for council to debate. Postmedia’s Annalise Klingbeil details five items on Monday’s agenda that council will vote on.

1 Updating the temporary signs on highways bylaw

The city’s temporary signs bylaw hasn’t been significantly changed in 20 years and, after soliciting citizen feedback, revisions are being proposed. More than 6,700 people recently participated in an online city survey, offering more than 36,000 comments about the signs that line local roads and advertise community events, sports registrations, campaigns and more. Most survey respondents said there are too many signs, they are distracting and unattractive — but they’re important and cost-effective for community groups. On Monday, council will debate proposed changes, including prohibiting temporary signs in playground zones, requiring a minimum 20-metre distance between signs by the same owner, business or campaign, charging a permit fee for the larger signs used by community associations, charities and not-for-profits, and extending the timeline given for people to remove election signs after polls close from 36 to 72 hours.

2 Ward office resources

A population imbalance across the city’s 14 electoral wards saw the boundaries redrawn last year, with the revisions coming into effect on election day in October. While the new boundaries are based on relatively equal population, the distribution of Calgary’s 234 communities and 152 community associations in each ward will soon greatly vary. Coun. Brian Pincott, who is not seeking re-election this fall, said his current ward will have 24 community associations after the election, while council colleagues will have half that number and one ward will have just three community associations. Staff within council offices attend every monthly community association meeting in their ward, meaning the unequal distribution will cause ward office workloads to vary greatly. “What is an inequitable situation now, but you figure out ways to manage it, is going to be completely unmanageable for a new councillor, particularly in Ward 11,” Pincott said. A notice of motion from Pincott scheduled to be debated Monday asks for a review of the model in which resources are allocated to the 14 ward offices, “in order to reach a more equitable model.”

3 Council fundraising policy

Council will have its say on a new policy that would require elected officials to seek written approval from the city’s ethics adviser before engaging in fundraising activities to benefit a third-party charity, community group or non-profit. If approved, the rules would mean a councillor would need approval from part-time city hall watchdog Alice Woolley before, for example, hosting a public event at which attendees can make donations to charities. A city committee voted in favour of the changes earlier this month and council as a whole will now weigh in.

4 Tax cancellation for Calgary housing company properties

The city-owned Calgary Housing Company (CHC) will be billed more than $2 million in property taxes this year — money that a city councillor believes could be better spent. Ward 11 Coun. Brian Pincott has put forward a notice of motion asking that 2017 property taxes be cancelled for the group that manages more than 10,000 subsidized and affordable housing units across the city. “From an operating perspective, Calgary Housing is supremely challenged right now,” said Pincott, who sits on the CHC board. “We’re doing everything we can to keep the doors open.” Pincott said every month 100 units turn over as citizens move in and out, and more than $5,000 per unit is spent to maintain the aging units for new tenants. “As the buildings get older, it costs more and more to keep the doors open,” he said.

5 Heritage designation for William J. Gray residence

Council will debate Monday if a simple Hillhurst home built in 1911 should be designated a municipal historic resource, a decision that would protect the home in perpetuity and prevent future owners from demolishing or dramatically renovating the structure. A city committee voted in favour of Lorna Cordeiro’s request to protect her home, titled the William J. Gray Residence, earlier this month following a lively discussion about what makes an old structure worth saving.