Calgary city council, in a vote of 9 to 6, has approved the proposed blanket zoning bylaw. Councillors voting against the majority of presenters in the longest, largest public hearing in council history were: Spencer, Wyness, Walcott, Penner, Daliwahl, Pootmans, Carra and Mian. Mayor Gondek also voted in favour.The vote comes after more than three weeks of public presentations in council chambers, 736 in total, either in person or on the phone. Additionally, the city received 6,101 written submissions, with roughly 75% of all submissions against the implementation of blanket zoning. The city also says 50,000 people watched the proceedings on its webcasts. However, the city knew it was unpopular based on written submissions received ahead of the April 22 public hearings. A total of 4,347 submissions were received, with 3,812 saying ‘no', 399 saying yes and 136 saying they were neutral. According to the city, duplicate submissions made by a single person were counted as one submission The blanket zoning bylaw will eliminate areas with zoning for only single-family homes, allowing multi-family homes, including four-plexes, each with two additional suites, in those areas. .Before the final vote, on the yes side, Ward 9 councillor Gian-Carlo Carra said in council, “I do believe very strongly in the public hearing process and I am always willing to be persuaded.” “I think we heard from amazing Calgarians who spoke, thoughtfully and intentionally and really came to their conclusions.” “I think one of our jobs is to govern, we have to be swayed not by the virality of an argument, not by how many people are saying something, but by the veracity of an argument.” “You know, absent was real consideration of the environment... economics versus economic diversification.” Councillors voting against the blanket zoning bylaw were Demong, Chu, Wong, Sharp, Chabot and Maclean. Also prior to the debate, Dan Maclean, ward 13 councillor, had a message for councillors who approved the bylaw. “We had 4,347 people submit public submissions, 90% of those were opposed. We heard from all the experts who told us we need this blanket rezoning to deal with housing affordability. We heard if blanket rezonng passes, housing prices will come down, everyone will get an affordable home, rents will be cheaper. But we know that’s not true.” “In fact, the opposite might occur, housing prices may increase due to the upzoning lift. Will blanket zoning increase supplies, most definitely, it will increase the supply of duplexes, row houses; they’re selling for 6, 7, 800, 000 dollars. Definitely not affordable.” “So, the question is ‘who are we listening to? Are we listening to the experts who are providing misleading information, in my opinion, on most facts around this, maybe councillors just wanted to listen to Justin Trudeau, whose ultra-aggressive policies caused (rising) housing prices in the first place. Maybe he wants to bribe us with a pile of money to implement his idea of ideology in our city.” “Every one of you can choose who you want to listen to, I’m going to listen loud and clear to Calgarians. They don’t want this rezoning, in fact, over three-quarters of Calgarians have said no to rezoning. The good news is regardless of how you vote, or how this council votes, all Calgarians will get a vote, in October 2025.” “This will be an election issue and I wish luck to all of you who choose to ignore the wishes of a vast majority of Calgarians.”
