February 2024 Newsletter

Greetings Ward 14!

I hope your 2024 is going well, and all the resolutions you made if any are going smoothly. Property Assessment is a topic that I like to drive home at this time of year, perhaps to the point of overkill. It is important, so I will mention it this month, and again next month. 

Assessment Review Period

The property assessment Customer Review Period is STILL here. It is an annual thing. This means that property owners will have received their notices in the mail showing this year’s assessed value for their property. The value supplies the basis for finding what part of the City’s property tax levy you will pay.

For that reason, it is important to double-check your assessed value and the details used to produce it. The assessment department does a great job following all the legislation and professional standards that govern their work, but if they have incorrect information about your property, they can’t assess your property correctly.

Check the details you receive in your assessment notice. If you see something you think is incorrect, or just have questions, please reach out to the assessment department. You can formally contest your assessment if you still do not agree. 

The Customer Review Period runs from Jan. 3 to March 11. You can contact Assessment at 403.268.2888 weekdays from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. with your questions and concerns. The City also offers online resources and tools at calgary.ca/assessment and Assessment Search.

How to Navigate the City’s Website – Episode 5: Engage Portal

This one is about as easy as it gets, but it is also probably one of the most useful and important areas of calgary.ca. In fact, a large portion of the topics I write about in this column can also be found on the Engage Portal at one point or another. The Engage Portal is a very useful tool for anyone interested in their municipal government.

Where can you find it? Go to calgary.ca, then scroll down to the “Other City of Calgary websites” section and click on Engage. That is how easy it is.

What will you find there? The Engage Portal contains access to the City’s ongoing and past engagement opportunities. You will be able to search for them or see them listed by category. This is where you can give input, learn more, or even sign up for email updates on a given project.

Go Paperless contest – more prizes, less clutter

If you make the change to receive a paperless assessment notice (eNotice) you can then enter for a chance to win one of four Visa gift cards valued at $250 each. After you sign-up for eNotice, you will receive an email with the contest entry link. Just complete the form and you are entered. The contest is open to new and existing eNotice subscribers. 

There is no purchase necessary. The contest begins Jan. 3, and ends March 31. Your odds of winning a prize depend on the number of eligible entries received during the contest period. To win, a potential winner must correctly answer a skill-testing question and sign a declaration and release form. The contest is open to Alberta residents over the age of majority and subject to the full contest rules available online at calgary.ca/gopaperless.

Calgary’s Proposed Citywide Rezoning

This topic is going to ramp up over the coming weeks. I will have more on it coming soon, but until then you can learn more about it. For more about it including how to provide your input online and at the public hearing on April 22, please visit calgary.ca/rezoningforhousing.

Calgary City Building  

The City of Calgary is updating plans that will shape the Calgary of the future and make sure our city keeps on being a great place to live. As our city’s population approaches two million, we must prepare to support this growth. The City Building program will align and strengthen our plans and tools to create a place where every Calgarian can thrive. 

The Calgary Plan will merge the Municipal Development Plan with the Calgary Transportation Plan to guide the way we move and use land across the city. The new Zoning Bylaw (currently the Land Use Bylaw) will simplify the rules that govern the use of land and the form of buildings in the city. The new Street Manual (currently the Complete Streets Policy & Guide) will provide updated direction for the design of Calgary’s streets to support safe travel options for all Calgarians.

All three of these documents will be created based on public feedback, existing policies, Council priorities, partnering with the Indigenous community, and extensive consultation with subject matter experts and interested parties. This effort will impact every Calgarian for the next 30 years.

The second phase of engagement will focus on the initial proposed direction of the Calgary Plan, Zoning Bylaw, and Street Manual. We invite all Calgarians to share their input, either in person or online, from Jan. 29 to March 3. Learn more and take part at calgary.ca/citybuilding 

Help us shape Calgary’s future floodplain policies and regulations

Calgary’s river valleys are essential to our city—they’re at the core of our city’s identity and its appeal as a place to live, work and play. 

As Calgary is vulnerable to flooding, making careful decisions about how we plan, develop and build in the floodplain is fundamental to protecting and enhancing the value of our river valleys while strengthening our overall resilience to the impacts of flooding.

With the province’s recent release of draft updated Flood Hazard Area maps reflecting the latest understanding of flood risk across Alberta and a new approach to flood hazard area zones, it’s now up to municipalities to decide how to develop and regulate in these areas.  

The City is planning for the future of our river valleys, including our flood hazard areas, through the Calgary River Valleys Project, which will shape how we plan, develop and build in our river valleys

Your input on how we make decisions on the use, conservation and development of our river valleys and communities is important. This month, we’re talking to Calgarians about the future of our floodplain policies and regulations. Visit calgary.ca/RiverValleys to join in the conversation.

Supporting businesses through construction – Green Line Business Support Program

The Green Line Business Support Program is taking steps to support local businesses impacted by construction. It's not uncommon for significant infrastructure projects to have impacts on businesses in the surrounding area, and it's reassuring to know that the Green Line team is committed to helping business owners navigate these challenges. 

Over the course of 2023, our Business Support team connected with businesses along the alignment over 1,573 times to help them through current and future construction. This level of engagement and support is essential for ensuring that businesses can continue to run and thrive during construction.

The Green Line team also works closely with project engineers and construction contractors to be responsive and provide solutions when needed. By taking a collaborative approach, the team can address issues quickly and effectively, minimizing the impact on businesses and the surrounding community.

The Green Line Business Support Program is committed to helping local businesses navigate construction impacts and ensuring that the project is completed successfully while minimizing disruption. 

If you’re a business located along the future Green Line, register with us at calgary.ca/GreenLineBusinessRegistration. This allows us to communicate with you about construction impacts and helps us plan ways to reduce those impacts. 

Stay safe, stay off storm ponds

With more people heading outside for winter activities, The City of Calgary wants to remind kids and their families to be safe while enjoying outdoor skating.

City of Calgary or community-designated outdoor skating rinks offer fun, free skating for all skill levels. Rinks maintained by The City are checked daily for ice thickness and quality, and surfaces are flooded as needed to make sure they’re safe for skating. 

While your community storm pond may look inviting, recreational activities are not allowed on them. These ponds are part of your community’s stormwater infrastructure and are there to reduce community flooding and clean stormwater before it returns to our rivers. Ice on these ponds is less predictable than ice on regular ponds and can be unstable even when it looks solid. Why? They Contain sediment and contaminants (e.g., bacteria, fertilizers, pesticides, vehicle fluids, metal, road salt) that are collected as water travels through the community on their way to the storm pond and can weaken the ice. 

Water levels are also constantly changing as water moves between inlet and outlet pipes creating unpredictable ice conditions. other areas may have little to no ice and often snow can cover visible hazards.

Instead, find a safe City or community outdoor skating rink near you at calgary.ca/rinks

Watch our previously recorded webinars 

Looking to renovate your basement or open a business in Calgary? Watch our growing library of recorded webinars on calgary.ca/webinar. Webinars are hosted through Microsoft Teams.

Have you attended one of our webinars? Let us know how we did by completing our survey. This survey will take less than five minutes to complete. Your feedback will help shape future webinars and all answers will be anonymous! 

Explore businesses in Calgary with the Business Map

Wondering what businesses are open around your neighborhood? You can use the Business Map to find active businesses and view their license information near your current or other specified locations. You can also search for businesses by license type.

Explore the Business Map now at https://maps.calgary.ca/businessmap/.To view more City of Calgary maps, please visit the Map Gallery at https://mapgallery.calgary.ca/.

Secondary Suites Amnesty Program

The City is extending the Secondary Suites Amnesty Program until Dec. 31, 2026. Under the Amnesty Program, charges for development permit and registration fees are waived. This encourages owners to continue building safe and legal secondary suites. For more information about building a secondary suite, please visit calgary.ca/suites.

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Feel free to contact me any time. The best way to contact me is by visiting calgary.ca/contactward14 or calling (403) 268-1653. 

Sincerely, 

Councillor Peter Demong