It was, without a doubt, Calgary city council’s biggest story of 2024, when a majority of councillors voted in favour of a blanket upzoning bylaw, eliminating areas of the city zoned solely for single-family homes.
It was approved despite 78% of Calgarians, who participated in the largest and longest public hearing in city history, were against the imposition of the bylaw.
It will also be a major issue for a newly certified municipal political party, Communities First, in Calgary’s election on October 20 this year.
The party, which currently includes sitting councillors Sonya Sharp, Andre Chabot, Dan Mclean and Terry Wong, as well as former councillor John Mar, plus Cornelia Weibe and Rob Ward, intends to field candidates in all 14 of Calgary’s wards, and promises, should it get a majority on council, it will repeal the bylaw and the city’s planning department will be directed to undertake significant reforms in its operation.
In a release, Communities First said this is its first major policy commitment ahead of the election and its candidates “are supporting an expedited repeal of blanket rezoning, restoring the land use classifications and process in place before the May 2024 public hearing instituted RCG-base zoning,” and its candidates are also endorsing “a host of process improvements in Calgary’s city planning department, to improve efficiency and expedite the review of lower-density land-use application reviews.”
“The wholesale blanket rezoning of Calgary’s established neighbourhoods last year by the majority of this council was not only contrary to the public will, but also profoundly bad planning,” said Chabot in the release. “It has created tremendous ill will in these communities and frustrates the city’s infrastructure planning.”
“It’s a bad policy. It needs to go, and if re-elected, I intend to introduce a motion to repeal it at our first regular meeting of council.”
The blanket upzoning bylaw eliminated public hearings, which were held to allow neighbours of applicants seeking land use changes for developments to voice their opinions and concerns.
These are now vetted and approved by the planning department as development application permits.
“That’s what I hear most at the doors in my community,” said Ward.
“Most people aren’t opposed to redevelopment that is respectful to community character, but not being able to voice concerns if you have them, before your elected members of council seems decidedly out of keeping with local government. People want to be able to have their say before council and have their elected officials be the ones who make these decisions, not some nameless, faceless bureaucrats.”
During this term of council, Sharp said she brought forward proposals for streamlining applications, but had them rejected.
“There is an abundance of red tape in how the city’s planning department operates,” she said.
“I brought forward proposals to cut it, twice, and both times the mayor and this council's majority rejected them because they were hellbent on bringing in blanket rezoning. Cutting the public out of these decisions isn’t cutting red tape, it’s bad government.”
“Blanket rezoning, keep it or toss it, will be a major election issue this October. Our Communities First candidates offer a clear and unambiguous position on it and I would challenge any of our opponents in the election to do the same,” added Sharp.
“Voters have a right to know where you stand on this before you ask them for your support."