Shawnee development final word delayed till January

A controversial Calgary developmentis not much closer to approval after a marathon public meeting Tuesday.

City council approved the first reading to re-zone the former Shawnee Slopes golf course. The project will return to council in January.

Developer Geo-Energy wants to put 1,400 houses where the golf course used to be, but residents in the community are raising a number of concerns, including the pressure extra traffic from the development would put onto an already congested section of Macleod Trail.

After two days of debate, council voted Tuesday to withhold final approval and have the developer work with the community over its concerns.

"It's still a piece of private land. It's still owned by my client and the opportunity is still there to come forward with a further application," said Geo-Energy consultant Ray Clark.