The legal papers have been filed in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, with the names of 288 Calgarians seeking a judicial review of city council’s approval of blanket up zoning. The bylaw was passed on May 14 after a public hearing that saw 5,362 written submissions, 88% of which were opposed and 736 speakers, 62% of which were against the bylaw. “The bylaw scraps zoning for single-detached and semi-detached homes and would permit up to 12 residential units on a single residential lot with minimal parking and documented negative impacts on neighbourhoods, existing infrastructure and the environment, affecting 311,570 properties,” says Robert Lehodey on a GoFundMe Page he organized. “On June 18, 2024 we filed the application seeking judicial review of City Council’s approval of blanket up zoning and its second refusal to hold a plebiscite on the matter,” says Lehodey, a Calgary lawyer. The application identifies the City of Calgary as a respondent and says, “You have the right to state your side of this matter before the Court. To do so, you must be in Court when the application is heard as shown (on) August 1, 2024 (at) 10:00am in Calgary Courts Centre Before: Justice in Morning Chambers." The application singles out Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra as Council for the Respondent. It reads, in part, “The Bylaw and Resolution is ultra vires (beyond the powers of) the Respondent and Council for the Respondent made the following errors in law, substance and process leading to the Bylaw which merit judicial review, including, inter alia (among other things): a. Councillor Carra breaching the Applicants’ right to procedural fairness by failing to have an open mind, which bias is informed by, inter alia: i. Promoting conspiracy theories that Bylaw opponents were “racist,” concerned about “the mixing of races” and motivated to “maintain socio-economic patterns of development that favoured the wealthy”; ii. Asserting he had no obligation to hear, consider or include any opposition to the Bylaw in Council’s deliberations, including in contravention of his duty under section 153(a) of the MGA; iii. Actively participating in training sessions and otherwise providing material assistance to proponents of the Bylaw, including preferentially disclosing confidential information about the voting preferences of certain Councillors and how to detract the influence of other Councillors contrary to his duty under section 153(e) of the MGA. All of which occurred on April 13, 2024, within close of proximity of the public hearing and passage of the Bylaw; iv. Misinterpreting and misstating his legal obligation as a decision maker during the course of the hearing; and v. Repeatedly confirming he had already made up his mind and had been advocating for this course of action since 2010. Also in the application is the influence of the Liberal government’s Housing Accelerator Funding agreement with the city, totalling $228 million. Mayor Jyoti Gondek has denied the HAF had any influence on council’s decision. The application reads, “Fettering the Respondent’s discretion by misinterpreting the Housing Accelerator Funding Agreement (HAF), signed October 6, 2023, (the “HAF Agreement”) and enforcing it as a binding obligation requiring Council to approve the Bylaw.” “Misinterpreting and misapplying the MGA through the application of irrelevant planning considerations, including the HAF Agreement.” “Making and relying upon erroneous findings of fact that were contrary to the evidence before Council, including, inter alia, that: i. The HAF Agreement required passage of the Bylaw; ii. The City of Calgary’s Housing and Affordability Task Force was mandated to review and determine the ambit of the Bylaw; and iii. In order to accept any recommendations arising from The City of Calgary’s Housing and Affordability Task Force, Council had to adopt all the recommendations.” Among other things, the application calls for the staying of the bylaw. “It is expected that this application and the first one filed April 18, 2024 regarding Council’s first refusal to hold a plebiscite will be consolidated by the end of the month,” says Lehodey on the GoFundMe page. “After that the court process will play out in the usual course, again when matters like these are before the courts there is no assurance of a win but if we do not try the repercussions will change large areas of our City.” “Thank you for your continued support, any assistance you can provide to help fund legal challenges to Calgary’s Blanket Up Zoning is greatly appreciated.”
