Interim. It’s a seemingly insignificant word, but one that could alter negotiations between the city and land developers over who will ultimately shoulder the cost of urban sprawl.
Council recently approved a report that sets out negotiating principles for a new infrastructure financing agreement with developers. For 10 years, the city has paid for water and sewer lines in new developments — racking up a soaring $1.5-billion debt.
But flying under the radar was a suggestion (introduced by Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart and passed at the July 19 council meeting) that the word “interim” be inserted.
That one-word alteration could bog down negotiations, weaken those principles and extend the current agreement past its January 2011 expiry date, says Ald. Druh Farrell, suggesting developers want to delay the process.
“It’s semantics in a way,” says Farrell, who voted against the amendment. “But it does give developers another opportunity to lobby members of council and speak at council, so it lengthens the process.”
The mayor has warned that if a new agreement isn’t reached by the end of the year, the city’s debt will grow by another $1 billion by 2018 and Calgarians’ utility bills will increase by double-digits for years.
Email: thowell@ffwd.greatwest.ca
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