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.

Organizations chosen for work in enhancement, shelter and care

Choosing from a record 47 nominations, CREB®'s Charitable Foundation recently handed out $150,000 to 15 local non-profit organizations as part of the annual Investing in Hope awards.

This year's awards – which highlighted work in community enhancement, shelter and care – saw more than 3,095 votes cast, with the top five charities in each category being recognized.

"We had a lot of amazing organizations to choose from and we are honoured to have representatives from the charities here today to celebrate with us," said Charitable Foundation co-ordinator Aneve MacKay-Lyons.

Why some Calgarians are choosing to stay put 

Our homes are our hearts. They are where we live, where we love, where we raise our families and where we make memories.

And as with all aspects of life, the heart wants what it wants. In many cases, this means a change.

However, instead of packing up our lives in boxes and moving to a new space, many Calgarians are opting to stay put and renovate instead, says Susan Rust of Susan Rust Interior Design.
Emotionally, many homeowners feel connected and sentimental to their existing home.

"They may have great friends and neighbours in the area and feel connected to the neighbourhood," said Rust.

Create a natural focal point this fall to view from the inside looking out

I had a single dahlia plant left in my garden. It was battered into the ground by heavy winds and rain. The flowers on the plant, already lying on the ground, had aphids, spiders and slugs living in them. But from a distance, they looked shabby chic beautiful.

Studies show views of nature improve our mood and relax our minds. Improving the view of nature from your window, even if you live on the 10th floor of a high-rise building, might seem impossible this late in the season. But as long as you have a balcony or small patio, improving the view is simple. Just add flowers, dead or alive.

Instead of cutting my dahlias and dumping them, or bringing dahlia blooms with bugs into my home, I clipped the best blooms from my plant and placed them in a large, shallow, water-filled salad bowl. Then, I left the bowl outdoors on my patio table, where I enjoy them from my dining room.

New developments increasingly designed to minimize impact on agricultural neighbours

A suburban home with a two-car garage is hardly what most people would call a potential threat to our nation's food security.

Yet as subdivisions push evermore into rural areas — with neighbourhoods bordering on fields of wheat and other crops — their impact on agricultural land has increasingly become a hot-button topic, says Tim Dietzler, an agricultural expert with Rocky View County.

"This is not a new issue in this area or any area in Alberta with development new agricultural land," he says. "But many municipalities now pay much more attention to the potential problems that can arise."

Parking stalls becoming key bargaining chips in a buyers' market for apartment condos

Parking is at a premium in Calgary's inner city.

Granted, that's not new news. But its impact on the local resale residential housing market is now making waves, especially as a bargaining chip for sellers in the beleaguered apartment-style condominium sector.

Benchmark prices in Calgary fell overall by 0.7 per cent in October compared with the month before, and 1.2 per cent from October the previous year, according to CREB®'s most recent monthly housing summary.

The steepest decline, however, was in the apartment condo sector where the benchmark price fell 0.8 per cent to $288,300 and four per cent from October 2014. CREB® attributed the decline to a corresponding increase in months of supply, which approached six months. In other words, more supply created a downward pressure on prices.

Local golf courses facing common plight

Two proposed residential redevelopment projects on Calgary golf courses are at the tipping point of an economic sustainability challenge hitting the golf industry throughout North America.

A proposal for new homes in two pocket areas at the Hamptons Golf Club — to support a substantial overhaul of the golf course itself — and the proposed closure of the nine-hole Harvest Hills Golf Course for the construction of single and multi-family homes, are working their way through community consultation and city application processes.

Hamptons Golf Course Ltd. has released preliminary concepts for northwest Calgary club's redevelopment, which would see a reconfiguration of the existing 18-hole course that would facilitate the construction of 35 to 65 new homes.

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.

Online forum also open

The City is conducting a transportation corridor study to identify short-, medium, and long-term plans for Crowchild Trail from 24th Avenue N.W. to 17th Avenue S.W.

Now in Phase 3: Concept Identification, the study will take place throughout November, working with Calgarians to explore ideas on possible changes to the roadway to help address issues today and accommodate Calgary's growth in the coming decades.

"We're working with Calgarians to put pen to paper," said project manager Fesial Lakha. "We know Calgarians have great ideas. The workshops are an opportunity to explore the benefits, impacts, constraints and trade-offs of different ideas participants bring to the table."

City becomes first to do so in Canada

Calgary has become the first city in Canada to offer complete online residential permit servicing.

Residential ePermit customers applying for new home construction permits (single and semi-detached homes, and associated garages) can now apply for these permits, pay for services and process all their inspections, using a single online tool.

The latest ePermit upgrade provides customers new inspection services and options, which completes a start-to-finish approach to doing business with the City online.