More housing choice, and specifically secondary suites, are needed now to facilitate a thriving Calgary economy, allow seniors to age in place and supply housing to compete for world-class talent.
The following flow chart (courtesy of Paul Fairie) shows the burdensome process that an applicant must follow to gain secondary suite approval.
Unfortunately, Sean Chu, Calgary ward 4 councillor, has often voted against secondary suites. In 2014, according to a Manning foundation report, Sean Chu voted for affordable housing choice a mere 23% of the time.
What makes Sean Chu’s vote record more interesting is that many of the ward 4 community associations have already voiced support for secondary suites.
Whereas, the ward 4 community of Thorncliffe wrote that they “strongly support reform on the secondary suite application process and regulations.” Likewise, the ward 4 community of Highland Park wrote that they “would like to voice our beliefs in affordable housing, and to consider reducing “red tape” in order to improve access to secondary suites within our city“.
Clearly, this is an issue that ward 4 communities are passionate about as well as many Calgary business leaders. I strongly believe that Sean Chu needs to publicly address his record on secondary suites in the upcoming election.
To view more videos related to secondary suites check out this video by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce:
and this video from Don Campbell, Real Estate Investment Network founder:
Ward 4 Calgary 
What if a councillor wants to keep 1 neighbourhood exclusive to single family but others inclusive to secondary?
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