The largest, most important public hearing of the new Calgary city council’s time in office unfolds in council chambers on Monday.
The agenda is repealing blanket upzoning, which was approved by the last council almost two years ago, despite more than 70% of Calgarians speaking at that public hearing saying they were dead set against the bylaw.
Speaking of that, anyone wanting to speak to council in chambers or on the phone can still register through the course of the hearing, which is expected to take a minimum of one week.
Registration information is at calgary.ca/publicsubmission or registration can be in person starting Monday at the registration desk in the Municipal Building Atrium, next to City Hall.
Complimentary transit tickets are available to in-person participants, as are six hours of complementary parking for those who drive.
The Calgarians For Thoughtful Growth (GFTG) group sent a written submission to city councillors on Wednesday, the same group that sued over the approval of blanket upzoning; the case is pending.
CFTG argues “council must repeal, reset and re-engage by cancelling Calgary’s 2024 blanket upzoning, restoring the previous zoning framework, and use it as a platform for transparent, community-driven planning that can support a durable approach to growth.”
Proponents of blanket upzoning insist it adds to the supply of affordable homes in the city, which CFTG disputes.
“Calgary experienced record housing construction in 2025. However, the available evidence suggests this boom wasn't driven by blanket upzoning,” it says, citing a report by Calgary urban planner Steve Shawcross and Calgary realtor Santo Stante that says 1,302 units, or about 5.6% of total new home starts, were directly attributable to blanket upzoning.
The report adds, “the median single-family assessment value rose to $706,000 in 2026, multi-residential rental values increased, and new R-CG units were often priced well above entry-level affordability. When land is broadly upzoned, land values rise to reflect new ‘highest and best use.’”
The increased land value is built into redevelopment costs, which the authors say encourages, “more expensive (homes) rather than housing affordable to lower-income households.”
CFTG argues citywide upzoning has failed to deliver on affordability and has fuelled speculation, accelerated demolition of more affordable homes, and increased pressure on aging neighbourhood infrastructure.
“The issue is not whether Calgary should add supply, but whether supply should be added through a one-size-fits-all citywide upzoning model, or through planning processes better aligned with infrastructure, local context, and public understanding,” says CFTG. “Blanket upzoning also produces unintended consequences such as land speculation, accelerated demolition of existing homes, and redevelopment patterns that do not align with infrastructure capacity or community planning objectives.”
“Calgarians support housing growth,” said Rusty Miller of CFTG. “What we are asking for is thoughtful planning aligning with infrastructure, neighbourhood context, and meaningful public participation in decisions that affect communities.”
Calgary administration has said the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) is at risk if blanket upzoning is repealed.
“The HAF Agreement required the city to pursue broad initiatives. Of the nine initiatives, only a small number relate to zoning reform, and even those use broad language such as ‘undertake city-initiated redesignations’ and ‘undertake land use bylaw amendments,’” says CFTG. “The HAF Agreement does not require blanket upzoning by name, doesn't prescribe universal citywide scope, and does not require redesignation of roughly 311,000 residential parcels.”
The issue is about affordable housing supply, but it’s about more than that.
A home is the largest purchase Calgarians make. With it comes deep emotions, not just as a place to live, but with hopes of a good investment.
It is also about democracy and trust. Trust that the councillors Calgarians elected will do as they promised and that they will repeal blanket upzoning.
Not a revision of the bylaw but a full repeal.