This policy is called citywide rezoning, but are its effects citywide visible in Calgary?
The citywide rezoning, approved by the previous council in the spring of 2024, amended Calgary's land use bylaw to make residential infill (R-CG) a standard residential zoning district across the city, allowing for a variety of housing types, including single-family, two-family, duplexes and rowhomes, to be built on the same lot.
Earlier this month, the new City Council voted to begin the process of repealing the policy and returning the city's land use rules to what they were before the citywide rezoning took effect.
“Calgary residents have told council that blanket rezoning, a one-size-fits-all approach, has failed to deliver housing at the rate, scale and price that Calgary residents can afford,” said Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas.
New data from the City of Calgary shows that since the policy came into force in August 2024, 478 development permits have been issued as a result of the citywide rezoning, creating 1,904 housing units.
Pending approval of a citywide rezoning, the changes would require a public hearing before the property's zoning could be changed to make way for a development permit.
The bulk of the redevelopment caused by the citywide rezoning is in the 11th Ward with 66, the 6th Ward with 63, the 9th Ward with 60, the 4th Ward with 58, the 1st Ward with 55 and the 8th Ward with 34, according to city data.
Rooms and townhouses are the dominant development in each area.
The area undergoing the most redevelopment as a result of the citywide rezoning is Ward 7, which has 127 properties, including 75 rowhouses and townhomes, according to city data.
A breakdown of the types of redevelopment made possible by citywide rezoning in District 7.
Global news
Graph. Mike Atkinson, who represents District 7, said the area was disproportionately impacted by the amount of redevelopment, even before the citywide rezoning was approved.
“The citywide rezoning allows for partial redevelopment of other areas of the city,” he told Global News.
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“My concern is that when we undo the city's rezoning, we're essentially going back to a time where most of this development is simply falling on the shoulders of the people living in Ward 7.”
However, development permit data shows that there are some areas that have seen very little change as a result of the citywide rezoning, while others have seen no change at all.
The destruction of chambers in Calgary with little to no reconstruction as a result of citywide rezoning.
Global news
A majority of councilors representing those districts voted to kill the citywide rezoning, including District 13. Dan McLean is one of the policy's staunchest opponents. According to the data, District 13 has undergone one townhouse/row home renovation in the last year.
“This is just the beginning,” McLean told reporters. “Once you have a few of these on Elbow Drive or Canyon Meadows, there will be even more cascading.”
Ward 12 Count. Mike Jamison, whose communities have not undergone any citywide redevelopment caused by the rezoning, said his opposition stems from the fact that the policy was approved by the previous City Council after a historic public hearing in which most of the more than 730 speakers opposed the idea.
“About 80 percent were against it, but the council still voted yes,” he told Global News. “For District 12, they need council members who will listen to them, and they need a mayor's office that will work for them on important issues like this.”
Laurie Williams, an assistant professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said the numbers show the problem and the debate around it is riddled with nuance and politics.
“People weren’t particularly supportive of ideology or party affiliation in the last election, they want to see issues represented in their constituency,” she told Global News.
“This does not mean that better policies cannot be formulated here, but they must be based on facts and not on the basis of speculative, ideological or partisan opposition.”
However, some council members hope to revise the rules regarding what can be built under R-CG zoning, including District 2. Jennifer Wyness, who presented offer It asks the administration to table proposed changes to the county's zoning for consideration at a public hearing next year.
“What is the form of the assembly? Are we going to have disparate architectural projects? That's part of the conflict that comes out of R-CG. There's no community context here, it's missing,” Wyness said.
“How to redevelop it so that those who live there feel comfortable?”
Atkinson, who voted against moving forward with repealing the citywide rezoning, said many of the community's concerns about the citywide rezoning allowing redevelopment would not be addressed by repealing the policy because developers could still apply to build them even if the citywide rezoning was repealed.
“If you do it right, there are a lot of benefits,” he told Global News. “So the trick is to make sure the rules are followed correctly, but when that development hasn't happened in your area, it's all about what you imagine and your imagination always goes to the nightmares rather than the reality of the situation.”
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