Alternative forms of transportation dominates headlines in 2015

Joe Starkman was contemplating buying a car for his daughter while she attended university in Halifax. To his surprise, she wasn't interested.

"That twigged us," said Starkman, president of Knightsbridge Homes, the builder behind N3 in East Village, Calgary's first carless condo. "We started to do some research, and our research showed there's a market in that Generation Y demographic for which car ownership is not a priority.

"We're not trying to change the world, we're just responding to a world that's changing."

A look back at secondary suites in 2015

City council made gains over the past year on encouraging development of legal and safe secondary suites in Calgary, but the topic continued to be a contentious issue for many.

While council approved relaxations to secondary suites regulations in two areas in late November, it also rejected a bid earlier in the year to legalize suites in four central wards.

This year also saw the introduction of a registry program and development permit exemption, both initiatives aimed at bringing more safe properties to the city.

Relaxation on lot size, floor space

It's going to be a little easier for Calgarians looking to add a legal secondary suite to their property.

In the latest development in the ongoing secondary suite saga, council has voted to relax the regulations on lot size and increase the amount of floor space allowed in the suites. The change was initiated by councillors Andre Chabot and Gian-Carlo Carra, who brought forward a motion to change the regulations.

Sharing economy proving controversial in Calgary and beyond

Share and share alike: for better or worse, it might be Calgary's new unofficial slogan.

Whether it's a home, room, or even a parking spot, Calgarians are proving to be big believers in divvying up their assets, with the controversial Uber car-sharing app and several other share-based service-providers gaining footholds in the local market.

Yet despite offering revenue-generating opportunities, services like AirBnB and Uber, also present some risks to providers, warn legal experts.

With Ward 12 Coun. Shane Keating pushing for provincial funding, Calgary's proposed Green Line is beginning to take small steps forward. Already having received a $1.53-billion commitment from the federal government, and city council already agreeing to fund their share, the push is on to get an application into the Province in time for the spring budget.

With that time fast approaching, CREB®Now digs into some of the facts and figures surrounding the proposed line.

City council has approved what it's calling a 2016 Resilience Budget. Presented as part of adjustments to its operating budget for 2016-18, the resilience budget which will change what Calgarians will be paying for many City services.

CREB®Now takes a look at some of those changes:

1. $4.90
With a property tax hike originally pegged at 4.7 per cent when the City released its 2015-2018 Action Plan, the subsequent cut to 3.5 per cent will mean the average Calgarian will be shelling out $4.90 more per month rather than $6.75.

Calgary creates secondary suite registry program 

Calgary's secondary suites debate now has its very own sticker.

In an effort to promote legal and safe secondary suites, the City of Calgary has launched a secondary suite registry and sticker program. The online, searchable registry tool and registered sticker program will help Calgarians verify if a secondary suite has been inspected by the City and meets the requirements of Alberta's building codes at the time of its approval.

Having added a legal secondary suite to his southwest Calgary home shortly after its purchase, Bryan Backman-Beharry believes the City's move will increase demand for legal, safe and abiding suites like his own.

"I expect it will increase demand for legal suites," said Backman-Beharry, who has already received his registry sticker from the City.

In 2014, City Council appointed an independent Ward Boundary Commission (WBC) to consider how the current ward boundaries need to be revised to accommodate recent population changes and projected future population growth in Calgary to achieve better representation by the respective Councillor.

With two possible revised boundaries, which would come into effect on Election Day 2017 (October 16, 2017), several Calgary communities could find themselves in a different ward.

The Ward Boundary Commission is holding open houses to hear from residents of Calgary on possible changes to ward boundaries. Calgarians are being encouraged to visit an open house between July 21 and August 4 to learn about proposed changes and provide feedback.

Calgary cycle track pilot seeing success in early days

For Calgarian Adrian Murphy, the opening of a second of four routes for the City's cycle track pilot is welcome news.

"I'm really looking forward to it," he said of the Fifth Street S.W. track, which opened June 12 and will allow him to cycle from his home in Mission to the 12th Avenue leg, which opened on June 4, and then to work.

Calgarians and tourists will be able to cycle to Stephen Avenue Mall for lunch after a recommendation imposing time restrictions was struck down.

In council today, Coun. Sean Chu made a recommendation that "Council direct the traffic engineer to exercise his authority to not allow bicycle riding on the Stephen Avenue Mall between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. weekdays.

Coun. Druh Farrell argued there are already restrictions in place during Stampede week adding, "We're talking about a pilot here, let's try it out."