An organized group of Calgarians, Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth has taken their fight against the City of Calgary’s contentious blanket upzoning bylaw to the Alberta Court of Appeal. The bylaw was approved by Calgary city council, by a vote of 9 to 6, on May 14 2024, after the longest public hearing in the city’s history, and eliminated areas of the city zoned solely for single-family homes. According to a statement released by the group on Thursday, the decision by council changed the zoning rules for 311,570 homes in the city. The group claims the process “was biased, procedurally unfair, and disregarded the legal rights of residents across the city.” “This ‘blanket upzoning’ allowed multi-unit dwellings, like rowhouses and fourplexes, to be built as-of-right on parcels previously zoned for single- and semi-detached housing,” reads the statement.“The City held a single public hearing to approve this bylaw, despite its citywide scope and the deeply local impact on communities. At that hearing, residents raised concerns that the process was confusing, rushed, and failed to consider neighbourhood-specific context. Even though the majority of participants at the public hearing opposed the bylaw, it was passed by City Council.” “In a subsequent court hearing, the Court of King’s Bench upheld the bylaw.” .By moving the issue up to the Alberta Court of Appeal, the group is appealing the lower court decision and asking the higher court to invalidate the bylaw and establish that citizens are entitled to a voice in land use decisions affecting their homes and communities. “What’s at stake here is the right to be heard, not symbolically, but meaningfully,” said Robert Lehodey, KC, one of the main leads of the group. “City council and the administration bundled 311,570 property redesignations into a single hearing, making it impossible to consider parcel-specific concerns. That isn’t just bad planning, it’s a breach of the legal duty to conduct a fair and responsive hearing. This appeal asks the courts to reaffirm that municipalities must respect the legal rights of citizens when making sweeping planning decisions.” “The decision by City Council and the administration to rezone these properties in one omnibus hearing sets a dangerous precedent for procedural shortcuts in the name of expedience.” Specifically, the filed Factum of Appeal argues that: “The hearing process combined 311,570 rezonings into one process, limiting each resident’s ability to speak about how changes would affect their specific home or neighbourhood. This single mass hearing does not meet the legal standard for public participation and fairness.” .“(Calgary) Councillor Carra had already made up his mind by coaching supporters of the bylaw on how to promote it and, during the hearing itself, by dismissing and diminishing the testimony of those in opposition, often despite not hearing all the evidence. The appeal maintains that conduct of that nature blurs the line between an impartial decision-maker and a determined advocate and raises a reasonable concern of bias and calls into question the legitimacy of the entire hearing.” “The hearing process and decision ignored community distinctions and differences. The bylaw applied the same rules to all areas, without considering each neighbourhood’s unique character, infrastructure, or needs.” The group is asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the trial judge’s decision; declare that the city’s hearing process was unfair, and; invalidate or suspend the blanket rezoning bylaw. "In plain terms, we’re asking the court to uphold fairness in planning decisions,” said Jennifer Baldwin, a member of the group. “Every community deserves to be heard before zoning rules are changed. We support building more homes, but not at the cost of excluding communities, disregarding local context, or eroding the fundamental right to public input." .Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth calls itself “A grassroots coalition” with more than 600 named applicants and others who wished to become named applicants, in addition to hundreds of financial contributors from across the city. "Our coalition continues to grow and is supported by legal professionals, community leaders and engaged residents committed to ensuring that growth in Calgary reflects democratic values and community input,” said the group in its statement, adding it is canvassing candidates running in Calgary's fall election on October 20. “We are circulating a detailed candidate questionnaire on land use and planning reform to all candidates in the upcoming municipal election. We will publish the responses so that Calgarians can make informed decisions based on candidates’ positions on blanket upzoning, community consultation, and procedural fairness.”
