Mayor Charlie Clark and the five councillors who voted in favour of zoning changes to get federal funds are not seeking reelection.
Some believe changes made last month to Saskatoon’s zoning laws will alter the character of the city and its neighbourhoods forever.
The changes were made to conform to requirements by the federal Liberal government to receive $41 million from its Housing Accelerator Fund.
Certainly, all the council members who have decided not to run again have every right to vote and, indeed, assumed responsibility for making difficult decisions when elected. Also, the affordable housing funds come with a Sept. 30 deadline.
Conversely, these politicians are making significant changes and will not have to deal with the repercussions. That’s true for all retiring politicians, but it does not mean they abdicate their commitment to serve their residents.
Loewen, for example, said last month that she and her family had decided four years ago that this would be her final term on council to achieve a greater life balance. She would have been a remarkably ineffective councillor had she made decisions solely with an eye on her departure.
But the perception of a departing council bloc making key decisions about the city’s future resonates as somewhat problematic. Clark, Gersher, Gough, Kirton and Loewen almost always vote together as an ostensibly left-wing faction.
The zoning changes demanded by Justin Trudeau’s government to receive the funding will allow fourplexes to be built on all residential lots and permit six-storey residential buildings within 250 metres of transit corridors and four-storey buildings within 800 metres of them.
A different council might have rejected the changes, but that seems unlikely, despite the four councillors (Randy Donauer, Bev Dubois, Darren Hill and Zach Jeffries) who voted against it. Coun. Troy Davies was absent for the vote.
Dozens of communities across Canada have already struck deals with Ottawa for housing money, including larger Prairie cities than Saskatoon — like Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg — and smaller ones like Regina, Sylvan Lake and Airdrie.
Regardless, demanding municipalities conform to federal priorities seems to be an inescapable trend; Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre warned that, if elected prime minister, he would withhold funds from municipalities that impede the building of new homes.
So another big decision looms for city hall politicians, nearly half of whom will not be around to deal with the consequences.
Phil Tank is the digital opinion editor at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
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