Coun. Mike Killick had something to get off his chest Tuesday.
He was speaking as council debated third reading of changes to the Community Standards bylaw at the last regular meeting of the year.
Among other things, the changes would allow dandelions to grow as tall as 15 centimetres by excluding them from a list of regulated weeds. But council voted down the changes, putting off any further movement on the file until at least the new year.
At council’s Dec. 3 meeting, Killick argued for dandelions to remain classified as weeds in the Botanical Arts City. He referred to a registry of weeds maintained by the provincial government and a document distributed by the Alberta Native Plant Council.
He also discussed a poll he conducted on social media that attracted more than 200 comments, most from people opposed to allowing dandelions to grow on front lawns. Some residents are concerned about allergen levels and unsightliness.
Coun. Natalie Joly, who suggested the change, said dandelions and other so-called weeds are staples in her family’s diet. She said they were brought to North America as a foodstuff and medicinal ingredient, and said Coun. Killick had in his comments reflected “misinformation” that circulates about the plants online.
"On Dec. 3 I was personally very dismayed and disappointed that the info(rmation) that I had presented was characterized as being misinformation,” he said, arguing it was different from what other councillors may have presented, but none of it was incorrect or misleading.
He said that’s why he voted against enshrining the changes in law Dec. 3.
“I felt very disrespected,” Killick continued. “I needed to have a moment to reflect rather than saying something I would have regretted in council at the time of that debate.”
He said he voted against the bylaw again on principle.
“Thank you Coun. Killick, well said,” Mayor Cathy Heron said. She said she didn't recall hearing the word "misinformation" on Dec. 3, and apologized if it came from her (which it didn't).
Coun. Ken MacKay likewise said he didn’t want to create confusion before voting against the amendments. He wanted to make it clear that bylaw officers still have the ability to take action if a property has any type of vegetation taller than 15 cm, whether it is listed by name or not.
Joly didn’t comment during the meeting. She stood by her characterization of social media as a breeding ground for dubious facts in a Wednesday email to the Gazette.
"I deleted my Twitter a couple of years ago and have been very quiet on Facebook for almost as long because I started to recognize that they were such poor platforms for genuine discourse - and such great ones for spreading misinformation or creating misunderstandings," she wrote. "I've been sharing information about this history of modern lawns for a while now - I posted about wildflowers and lawns earlier this year.
"I was the one who initiated the changes to the Community Standards Bylaw - "to increase a wider scope of landscaping options that residents can consider such as but not limited to food crops, pollinating gardens, rain gardens, and xeriscaping" - so it was disappointing to see us go in a direction that was so contrary to the original intent. That said, I abide by the decisions of Council."
James Robertson, a resident who came to St. Albert Place to register his support for the proposed changes to the Community Standards bylaw in person, said he appreciated the balance council appeared to be trying to strike between support for pollinators and neighbourhood esthetics.
"I think it is a good measure."
He said it would be nice of the city to share on its website some best practices on how to create and maintain a clover lawn, when and how to mow dandelions to make them useful as food but mitigate the spread of allergens once they seed.
Heron replied she had already made such a note.
