Mildly Infuriating
- The Mayor of Calgary, Canada, just received this warning letter
Context
Alberta is a conservative Canadian province that is rich because they extract a lot of oil. The Alberta Government opposes all measures that could reduce oil-production or oil consumption.
For instance, when the Canadian Federal Government tried to take measures to reduce plastics pollution, the Alberta Government publically protested.
Calgary is the largest city in Alberta. The city has a traffic violence problem. Data shows it has the worse road deaths and injuries rate of any major Canadian city.
Jyoti Gondek, the Mayor of Calgary, recently suggested building more safe bike lanes to reduce car dependency. A few days later, her office received this warning letter
- Millionaire homeowners sued the city of Charlottesville, Virginia, arguing a 10 square mile town whose new zoning plan to increase density had no plan to expand the roads
Charlottesville, Virginia, spent most of a decade revising its zoning code.
It held endless community meetings.
It gave opponents ample opportunity to make their case.
They lost.
But a handful of rich homeowners sued and have gotten the new Charlottesville zoning code overturned on a technicality
https://communityengagement.substack.com/p/june-30-2025-judge-worrell-voids?r=blgf
https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/newsletter/nine-charlottesville-residents-who-own-expensive-properties-are-suing-to-stop-upzoning/
9 millionaire homeowners, who couldn't persuade Charlottesville residents and couldn't win at the ballot box, decided they would throw everything they had to nullify their defeat.
And it worked 😠
