Calgarians will once again be able to have their say on a citywide rezoning after city council voted to begin the process of repealing the policy.
Movementwhich called for the repeal of the citywide rezoning was approved 13-2 after hours of debate with District 7. Mike Atkinson and District 8. Nathaniel Schmidt voting no.
Ward 10 Coun was a co-sponsor. Andre Chabot, Ward 13. Dan McLean, Ward 1. Kim Tyers, Ward 11. Rob Ward, District 12. Mike Jamieson, District 14. Landon Johnston and Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas.
“The whole point of my proposal is to start over and try to do it right,” Chabot told the council.
The proposal directs the city administration to return the city's land use bylaw to what it was in before the previous City Council approved citywide zoning, but would exclude properties for which development permits were approved prior to the proposal or those properties currently pending in the permitting process.
However, a decision won't be finalized until public hearings needed to make changes to the city's land use policy are held in the spring.
“I've been advocating for a complete repeal from the beginning because that's what Calgarians want,” McLean told reporters. “They've been asking us for a complete repeal at the door, at community centers, all over the city. They want repeal. They don't want anything watered down.”
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The previous City Council approved a plan to change the city's standard residential zoning in May 2024 after the longest public hearing in city history, in which most of the more than 730 speakers opposed the idea.
The move changed Calgary's land use bylaw, making residential infill (R-CG) a standard residential zoning area across the city, allowing for a variety of housing types, including single-family, double-family, duplexes and row houses, to be built on the same lot.
Changing the city's baseline residential zoning was a key recommendation and one of more than 80 housing strategies in the city aimed at increasing the supply and increasing affordability of housing.
While supporters of the policy say the move is critical to speeding up housing development and cutting bureaucratic costs, critics argue it eliminated citizen participation in the process because similar redevelopment efforts would require public hearings before approving a citywide rezoning.
“I think it's about trust,” said Chris Davies, a volunteer with the group Calgarians for Smart Growth. “In the past year, council has ignored the views of what appears to be the majority of Calgarians.”
Rezoning the city became a central issue in the last municipal election, with a majority of the new City Council members elected vowing to overturn the policy.
Mayor Farkas' platform included a promise to repeal but also replace controversial planning policies.
However, the City Council voted narrowly 7-8 against Farkas' proposal, which would have directed City Hall to begin exploring other methods to promote development and construction of affordable housing. Counters. Ward, Johnston, Pantazopoulos, Jamieson, Tyers, Chabot, Wyness and McLean voted against.
“We threw the baby out with the bathwater,” Schmidt told reporters. “Mayor Farkas' proposal allowed us to at least look at alternatives to the path forward, because we need a path forward, and right now we don't have a path forward. We are going back to the past, and I want us to look forward.”
Farkas said there is still a lot of work to be done on a potential replacement for the policy.
“Conversations about what the next steps will look like will continue over the next few weeks and months in the lead-up to the public hearing,” he told reporters.
The city reported that since its enactment in August 2024, there have been 478 development permit applications directly related to the citywide rezoning policy, with District 7 having the most with 127 developments.
Atkinson, who represents the area, said he believes the repeal of the citywide rezoning does not address many of the community's concerns about these infill developments, since developers could still apply to build them even if the policy is repealed.
“The past year is not our experience of this form of development – we have been experiencing this for a long time,” he told reporters. “By setting us back one year… it doesn't solve the underlying problem, which is fixing the rules. R-CG the evolution of style and what we need to see in our neighborhoods.”
Ward 2 Count. Jennifer Wyness presented offer It asks the administration to table proposed changes to the R-CG zoning district for consideration at a public hearing next year. It was approved 10-5 with the counts counted. Johnston, Ward, Jamieson, Tyers and McLean opposed.
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