Hundreds expected to speak as Calgary city council begins public hearings Monday into its proposal for blanket rezoning of residential neighbourhoods.
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The City of Calgary’s plan for blanket residential rezoning goes to a public hearing starting today.
More than 650 people have registered to speak at the hearings at Calgary city hall, in addition to thousands of written comments submitted.
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The change, if approved, would mean a homeowner could apply to build a semi-detached house or a row house in areas where only single-family homes are currently allowed.
Please watch here for updates through the day once the hearings get underway.
Live from council
Our city hall reporter Scott Strasser is reporting live from council chambers. Follow his updates here:
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Mapping Calgary’s rezoning plan
Our graphic designer Darren Francey maps what the proposed rezoning changes across the city.
Your questions answered about Calgary’s proposed citywide rezoning
City hall reporter Scott Strasser took time out of his day to answer some of your questions during a live Q&A event last Wednesday. Here’s a sample of your questions from the session.
Question from Thilo Kaufmann: Mount Royal is considered historical and will not be part of the process is the rumour. Is that true? Is this only a middle class proposal and not egalitarian?
Answer: I asked the city’s regional planning team leader if mansion communities would be exempt from RC-G and the response is they would not be, that it would be a citywide policy.
Question from Peter Christoffersen: Why blanket re-zoning? Why not just along “feeder routes” and bus routes, that should provide more than enough extra housing without impacting entire communities.
Answer: Thanks for the question Peter. Similar question was asked on the FAQ section of the city’s website and their argument is basically that developing more housing along transit lines and bus routes is a priority, but that alone wouldn’t be enough to meet the incoming demand. Calgary’s expecting about a Red Deer’s worth of new residents in the next few years and there’s about a 50,000 home shortage at the moment.
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Question from D. Cameron: I understand some inner-city communities are exempt from this rezoning. Is that true?
Answer: Hi D. Cameron. I’ll repost the quote from Joe Mueller I posted on another question when it comes to mansion neighbourhoods:
“Our rezoning proposal applies to all communities across the city. It is citywide. We’re not exempting any communities from this zoning proposal. It is designed to rezone all low-density residential properties, so all the RC-1, RC-2, or R-1 properties to either RC-G in the established area or R-G. So it’s citywide, all communities, no exceptions.
“What people may be seeing if they look at our proposed rezoning map, there are grey areas that are not being proposed for rezoning. That’s for a couple of reasons. One is those areas already allow a higher residential development form, so maybe apartment buildings. Or it could be commercial or industrial areas.
“In addition, there are also parcels in the city that have a direct control district. That’s a custom designed land use zone that council applied to that piece of land. So it was a specific consideration of council and there are quite a few of those in the city. We’re not proposing rezoning those right now because that would require more detailed analysis of council’s thinking in terms of making a custom zoning for that parcel.”
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See more of your questions and answers here.
Why blanket rezoning has become Calgary’s biggest housing controversy
Following a two-day public hearing in September, Calgary city council voted 12-3 to approve the plan, which intends to boost Calgary’s market and below-market housing supply through a slate of new policies in the coming years.
While the strategy includes more than 70 recommendations, the most divisive has been a proposal to change the city’s base residential zoning district to residential grade-oriented infill — more commonly referred to as R-CG.
Dozens of associations meet with mayor to discuss controversial zoning changes
Representatives from 42 Calgary community associations met with Mayor Jyoti Gondek Saturday to voice their concerns about the proposed zoning changes.
The plan to adopt new zoning rules to allow row houses and duplexes anywhere in the city is the challenge the associations are confronting. The city believes the change will help alleviate issues surrounding housing availability and affordability. However, many are concerned about what this means for the future of their neighbourhoods.
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Premier weighs in on blanket rezoning as Calgary public hearing looms
Just over a week before a highly anticipated public hearing is set to get underway in Calgary, Premier Danielle Smith weighed on the contentious topic of blanket rezoning.
On her biweekly call-in radio show, Smith was asked her opinion on blanket rezoning, which is currently being proposed in Calgary as a means of boosting density and increasing the overall housing supply.
While she responded that she has always preferred to live in communities zoned for a variety of mixed uses due to the proximity of commercial amenities, Smith said that’s her personal choice, and suggested it’s unfair to force that lifestyle on the entire population.
Security concerns halt rezoning information event
A security threat that included hate speech has led to the cancellation of a walking tour meant to explain a city blanket rezoning policy that’s raised the ire of many Calgarians.
The tour of the Capitol Hill area in the city’s northwest was scheduled for Saturday afternoon but was cancelled in mid-March after city officials say they received information that suggested safety and security concerns.
Calgary council turns down plebiscite for proposed blanket rezoning
Calgarians won’t be given the opportunity to vote in the next municipal election on the city’s blanket rezoning proposal.
During a special meeting on March 13, council voted 8-6 to deny a motion to send its proposed policy to a plebiscite, which would have seen the matter added to ballots during the 2025 municipal election. Mayor Jyoti Gondek called the special meeting after a review of the plebiscite proposal Tuesday.
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