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Canadian Guerilla: Offsite, offside, gravel, mutiny, etc.

Excerpt from the latest newsletter by Canadian Guerilla:

Tuesday, 05 January 2010

109 households sent in comments to the offsite-levy bylaw. I didn’t see one in favour, so let’s see if I can do the calculation: that would be … ummm … 100% against. Feel free to check my math.

Rocky View Council has deliberately tried to hide what this bylaw does. They have deliberately limited public knowledge and debate.

When I first saw the notice on the county’s website, I dismissed it. Who knows what an offsite levy is, let alone cares about a bylaw dealing with it? But, a little voice said, “Check it.” I looked up “offsite levy” on the web; I read about it in the Municipal Government Act (MGA); I read the municipal how-to cheat sheet published by the county’s lawyer (http://www.cpaa.biz/OffSiteLevyChecklistE0693042.pdf); I downloaded the bylaw.

In short, “offsite levy” is arcane terminology used to mask insidious behaviour: subsidizing developers at taxpayer risk. (On its face, it’s not supposed to do that; however, in practice, that’s exactly what it does.) Only warped minds could dream up this crap; only criminal minds would use it to hide development and borrowing on a staggering scale. The only reason council publicly announced this bylaw is the MGA requires that they do. Look at when they announced it (Christmas); look how much time they allotted for comment (a few weeks over the holidays); look at the informationless notice on their website. These scammers tried to sneak one past us. You know it; I know it; they know it….

Read the full post at: http://bit.ly/5oqBWl

Look west to see what can happen when a council is out of control

If you’re like me, you may think that municipal governments in Alberta are accountable to taxpayers and will respect their wishes. In this last year, I’ve become more actively involved in monitoring municipal politics in and around Calgary. What I’ve seen is shocking and disturbing.

I’ve seen the creation of a new entity called “‘The Calgary Regional Partnership,”  (CRP) an incorporated body paid for by the taxpayers who live in and around Calgary. This entity falls outside of government, it has no obligation to share information directly with the taxpayers who fund it. It reports directly to a Cabinet Minister.

It also has a governance model that gives one member veto power over the other 16 members. If Calgary does not agree with plans in a neighbouring municipality relating to land use, they have the power to shut it down. This power is guaranteed in the Alberta Land Stewardship Act, passed in the Legislature this past fall by the Stelmach government. In order to pass this Act, the government had to make amendments to more than 25 other Acts, including the Municipal Government Act. The Alberta Land Stewardship Act is at the top of the hierarchy of government Acts. It supersedes all other acts, giving the new Land Use Framework ultimate authority, and along for the ride is Calgary and Mayor Dave Bronconnier.

The Stelmach government continues to ignore rural voters who are vehemently opposed to the governance structure of the CRP. All three rural municipalities next to Calgary have rejected the CRP…but one municipality stands out. The MD of Rockyview has thus far opted out of the CRP, but not for the reasons you might think. The MD of Rockyview by all accounts, is opting out because it wants to urbanize and develop the MD even more than the Calgary Metropolitan Plan has in mind. They are alone in their single minded pursuit of “rampant urbanization.” And no one in the Stelmach government seems prepared to stop them. If there was ever a reason to intervene, Rockyview’s council is IT.

Now, in the latest sad chapter of the ongoing controversy in Rockyview, the residents found out recently (December 8, 2009) that council wants to borrow up to $200M to pay for a Balzac-Langdon wastewater system that was only supposed to require a loan of $41M because developers were going to cover this debt via levies. That was 2005 and now they’re proposing a new borrowing by-law and residents have only until Jan. 5, 2010 to comment. Activists have calculated that each household in the MD will be responsible for a $15,000 debt as a result of this latest by-law.

Read the full background at: www.ourspringbank.ca

Not to worry, you might think. If enough people are opposed to this new by-law, council won’t pass it. Not so, council has so far shown no regard for residents or even its own paid consultants, who’ve warned as part of the Growth Management Strategy process, that residents are opposed to council’s plans. Several councillors may be in a conflict of interest, but Municipal Affairs Minister, Ray Danyluk has refused to get involved. Some residents are considering a lawsuit. By the time the election is held in October of this year, a lot of damage can be done by a council that refuses to recognize it is out of step with the majority of residents.

Holding the previous $41M debt has already cost the county $9M in interest payments, more than the $8M that went to pay down the debt, which now stands at $35M. In addition to this financial fiasco, the by-law assumes that 16,000 acres of agricultural land will need to be developed.

This is the state of democracy in Alberta. Look to the west and see what is happening in Rockyview and be afraid, be very afraid.