Calgary councillor's about-face thwarts planned basement suite for mom

A Calgary man says he was shocked his city councillor voted against his application for a secondary suite after there was an indication he would support it.

Henry Ogbomo applied for a rezoning so he could put a legal basement suite into his house in the northwest community of Evanston.

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He says he wants a suite for his mother. He hopes to bring her from Nigeria to help look after his children.

Ogbomo contacted his councillor, Ward 2's Joe Magliocca, seeking his support.

Emailshowscouncillorbacked application

Last February, he received an email reply. In it, a member of Magliocca's staff stated that the councillor normally doesn't support secondary suite applications.

However in this case, Magliocca "submitted his support of your application to the File Manager."

The email stated that the councillormust remain open to arguments from those who might oppose the application but that Maglioccathought Ogbomo'srequesthad a good chance of beingapproved by council.

A public hearing on theapplication was held during the city council meeting on June 13.

The agenda item included three letters of support from neighbours on his street, as well as one letter of opposition from the homeowner next door.

At the public hearing, only Ogbomo spoke in favour of his application. No one spoke against it.

Applicant shocked by vote outcome

Minutes later, council voted 7-6 againstOgbomo's application. Two councillors were absent.

Magliocca was among those who voted no.

"It made me feel really bad. I was shocked," said Ogbomo.

"How can somebody, an elected official, that you put so much confidence in and voting him into office would say a word of support to me and in public, just withdrew his support and vote nowithout even letting me know about his decision?" said Ogbomo.

"That speaks, for me, to his integrity."

Councillor says vote based on what he heard from community

Magliocca explained his vote by saying he consulted with the neighbours about Ogbomo's application.

He said they raised doubts that Ogbomo's need for a secondary suite is connected to his mother.

"I read through the documents that I received from the neighbours and I don't think there was (consistency) there," said Magliocca."I do talk to a lot of the neighbours and the stories were not the same."

As a result, he said he couldn't vote for the application.

"From a mother-in-law's going to move in so they could have like a built-in nanny' to 'Oh yeah, I'm renting it out because I need some extra money.' No," said Magliocca.

Council members are technically not supposed to make up their minds on landuse matters until after they've heard the arguments for and against an application.

Magliocca not a secondary suite supporter

Magliocca is not a strong supporter of rezoning applications for secondary suites, frequently voting against them.

He said his philosophy on secondary suites is there needs to be adequate parking, a separate entrance and the neighbours should be properly consulted.

The councillor also said that he prefers houses zoned for secondary suites have the owner residing on site, even though he acknowledges that's not legally required.

Magliocca said the many applications for secondary suites that must come through these public hearings are wasting a lot of council's time. And he feels the process for approving or denying a proposed rezoning is somewhat random.

"Some advice to people. If they know they want to have a secondary suite, buy in an area where you can have secondary suites. Life will be a lot easier," said Magliocca.

Zoning in Evanston varies even in same block

The picture in Evanston is somewhat unique.

Many newer communities on Calgary's outskirts are zoned to allow secondary suites.

However, when that change was made, some houses in Evanston were already built or partially built.

On Ogbomo's street, it means his house requires rezoning for a secondary suite, but a basement suite would automatically be allowed in many other houses on the same street.

Ogbomo's experience with city hall hasn't deterred him.

After a rezoning application is rejected, the property owner can re-apply after six months.

Ogbomo intends to do just that. And talk with his neighbours.

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