In a resounding repudiation of blanket upzoning, Calgary City Council voted 13 to 2 to begin the process of repealing the bylaw approved by the previous council, despite a vast majority of Calgarians being very much opposed to it at the time.
The vote to repeal blanket upzoning was spurred by a Notice of Motion brought to council by Cllrs. Andre Chabot, Dan McLean, Kim Tyers, Rob Ward, Mike Jamieson and Landon Johnston, and supported by Mayor Jeromy Farkas.
The councillors who voted against the repeal were newcomers Nathaniel Schmidt and Myke Atkinson.
At the start of the meeting, Farkas reconfirmed the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation would not interfere with Calgary receiving the balance of its $228.5 million grant from the Housing Accelerator Fund, having spoken with federal ministers as well as with Prime Minister Carney’s office, which said there is flexibility and focus is on outcomes.
Calgary city administration says the repeal would revert the city's land-use bylaw back to what it was prior to citywide rezoning taking effect in August 2024, excluding any properties that have been redeveloped or in the development permit process
There was some ‘stick handling’ on the notice of motion, centered by Cllr. Jennifer Wyness, who put forward an amendment that would allow homeowners to request going back to the original land-use, rather than the original land use automatically being brought back to all properties.
Farkas ruled Wyness’ amendment was in order but was challenged by Chabot. In a vote, council came out against the ruling by Farkas.
Blanket upzoning was heralded in 2024 as the solution to Calgary’s housing crisis, from both the supply side as well as with affordability, but it failed in both. When queried on Monday, city administration said only 478 building applications were approved because of blanket upzoning since August 2024.
Prior to the vote, Cllr. Atkinson said he campaigned in the election against a candidate who wanted to repeal blanket upzoning, but Atkinson won. He added that a repeal would not solve any community concerns.
"This is irresponsible, and not how you govern properly," Atkinson said, adding governing is coming to the table with a solution, and this council needs to fix the rules. He urges council to vote against repeal and work to fix citywide rezoning.”
The blanket zoning debate was not just about land use and properties rights, said Farkas.
“Today's motion is about a lot more than land use or public hearings or bylaws. It's fundamentally about trust and it's also about honouring our work,” he said before the vote. “Candidates running for mayor on a repeal of rezoning received over two-thirds of the popular vote in. Calgarians told us clearly, repeatedly, and across every single part of the city, that they felt unheard that a decision had been made of enormous consequence.”
“Elections matter, promises matter and when people participate in our democracy in good faith, council has a responsibility to respond in good faith. “
Calgary has no choice but to continue building homes at affordable price points in every part of the city where it makes sense, added Farkas.
“That's a very real responsibility and our council doesn't shy away from it, as evidenced by our decisions that we made during our budget proceedings," he said.
“But how we grow matters just as much as how fast we grow. Blanket rezoning applied a single solution to a diverse city without sufficient regard for neighborhood context and for infrastructure readiness or the reasonable expectation that Calgarians deserve a meaningful voice in shaping change.”
Calgarians felt imposed upon and that did real damage to confidence in City Hall, added Farkas.
“This motion is the first step in repairing that damage. Let me also be clear that this motion on its own is not the end of the work that we have to do. Repeal without a replacement would not serve Calgarians, it wouldn't serve builders, and it would not serve our housing goals,” he said.
Following the vote, a motion arising directed administration to return to council with a comprehensive replacement framework, to be ready for a public hearing in March, and, if approved, a return to the previous land use bylaws by August 2026.
