They have arrived at Calgary’s council chambers in the hundreds since April 22, waiting hours in line for their five minutes of time to address city council’s proposed blanket zoning bylaw. Hundreds more wait in the queue of Calgarians on the telephone to express their opinions. And more than 5,500 written presentations have been submitted but no one knows if any have been read by any members of city council. As of Friday, council had heard from 611 people about the citywide rezoning proposal. Of the 965 speakers registered to date, 262 had not responded when called. The public hearing, already the longest in city council history, is now in its third week, with expectations it will wrap on or before the end of the week. It’s all about a land-use bylaw amendment that, if approved, would see exclusionary areas zoned for only single-family homes be opened up to multi-family fourplexes and row homes, that could also include secondary and backyard suites. The presentations from Calgarians include those who favour the change and those who do not. Presentations from the latter group are wrought with emotions from people who have lived in their neighbourhoods for years, some for generations. These are not professional public speakers and many talk about the stress of presenting in council chambers. It is said it’s one of the biggest fears to overcome. Their concerns are primarily about how having a high-density in-fill fourplex next door will affect the value of their properties. They talk about how their lifestyles will deteriorate with the increased density brought by having a fourplex with a secondary suite and a backyard suite next door. The potential for high density, much higher density, is great. If each of the units includes two inhabitants, that's 12 people living in the building, putting pressure on the infrastructure. If it needs to be upgraded, they ask who will pay for it, the owners of the fourplexes or everyone on the block? And what of trash pick-up, they ask? Most residences in Calgary have three bins for trash. A fourplex, as described above, means 18 trash bins. Where, they ask, would those be positioned? If all 12 people in the unit each own a vehicle, where do those vehicles park, if not in front of the homes of people who have lived in the neighbourhood for years? Those against have other concerns, but they’re only allowed five minutes to speak. Those on the ‘yes’ side talk about the need for densification. They would talk about densification regardless of the circumstances. They say the new zoning will provide more ‘affordable’ housing, without explaining how. They conflate affordable housing with housing that is affordable. The former would best be described as social housing, for people who need assistance acquiring housing, due to any number of factors. Certainly, the city has a hand in supplying social housing through various programs and working with various agencies that focus on social housing. It is not a certainty the proposed zoning change will increase the availability of homes that are more affordable. There are too many factors at play and the biggest factor of all is money. If a homeowner decides to demolish his or her single-family home to build a fourplex, what will the owner charge to buy or rent a unit in the fourplex? If a developer, or group of developers, decide to canvass a neighbourhood to buy a number of homes, will the owners of those homes bump up the price of their homes, knowing the developer is in it for the money? So, yes, the bottom line is the money. But is the fix already in? The Liberal government is dangling $228 million from its Housing Accelerator Fund in front of city council, with strings attached. The big string, heck call it a rope, is getting rid of exclusionary zoning. In a September 14 2023 letter to Mayor Jyoti Gondek, Liberal Housing Minister Sean Fraser wrote: “...I wish to inform you that Calgary’s Housing Accelerator Fund application will not be approved unless you follow through to create the new missing middle zoning designations of H-GO and R-CG as you laid out in your application. Otherwise said, in order to receive a positive decision from me on your application, you must end exclusionary zoning in your city.” And then, Fraser avoids the obvious, which is the housing crisis in Calgary and across Canada is due to irresponsible immigration quotas and puts the blame squarely on Calgarians who oppose the change. “There are members in your community, and elected leaders in your community, that may try to dissuade you from doing the right thing, in pursuit of what is easy,” he wrote. “These kinds of attitudes are a major reason why we are living in a national housing crisis. These attitudes help explain why so many Canadians cannot afford the cost of a home in the community where they work, study, and live.” “We will never solve the housing crisis in Calgary if it is not legal to build the home required to meet the moment.” Speaking to the press after the first presentations on April 22, Gondek said the massive turnout shows Calgarians see the rezoning proposal as important. “This is very emotional for people,” she said. “A lot of peoples’ home is their greatest asset. People are worried about what they’re going to get and people want to be heard. They want their concerns to either be addressed or for some changes to be made to the motion.” “That’s what we’re trying to do — listen to everyone and make sure we do the right thing.” Do the right thing? Really, coming from someone who voted to ban plastic bags for customers at Safeway, even though customers could buy plastic bags at Safeway, that's rich. Calgarians level of confidence should be very low the rezoning proposal will be voted down. Too many ideological egos and too much money are at stake. And the fix may already be in
