WENZEL: Nobody voted for this mess!

I hesitate to say 'I told you so' about blanket rezoning in Calgary, but honestly, I was ringing the ‘alarm bells’ about this 13 years ago when the ‘Plan It Calgary’ initiative came into existence and increased density targets were set for new suburbia. At the time, it defied logic that only new suburban neighbourhoods would densify more and that established neighbourhoods were not mentioned. For those who aren’t aware, in 2009 an initiative was conceived by Calgary City Administration called “Plan It Calgary”. It was a plan to accommodate 50 per cent of our future population growth in the developed parts of the city, as opposed to greenfield (suburban) expansion all the while adding more densification to new suburban neighbourhoods. While I agreed with more densification and product diversity, I was always concerned with what appeared to be an attempt to eliminate the single-family home, which most Calgarians and Canadians still aspire to own. I rang the ‘alarm bell’ with friends, acquaintances, the public and the media but no one seemed concerned at the time. They should have been, because the only way to achieve these targets in established areas was to densify them more. R-CG zoning is common in new suburban neighbourhoods since that designation allows for several types of home styles to be built, such as Single-family homes, duplexes, semi-detached, townhomes, row-houses, secondary suites, backyard suites and for some unexplained reason, cottage housing. This was welcomed by the development community since it allowed flexibility in the blocks to adjust housing types to market trends, but also to properly transition housing types to protect purchasers' investment. Where things become contentious with blanket rezoning is not with the designation itself, but rather by mixing housing types without a plan. Anyone who has watched the panel of people opposed to blanket rezoning can hear the concerns homeowners in established communities have, and this is exactly why. And no, it is not NIMBY-ism! Anyone who suggests this should give their head a shake! As noted by numerous Calgary residents, not one of the current councillors included blanket rezoning in their platforms when seeking election. Had they done so, we would have a vastly different looking council today. My question is, “So, who brought it up? Council or Administration? “I have been asked multiple times by people if I support this up-zoning, which has caused such tremendous distress amongst Calgarians. No, I do not! The approach is flawed and akin to planning a family trip without discussing it with the family. Calgary already had a process — Local Area Planning — to fundamentally and holistically review progression in an established community. As part of that planning, revitalization and densification opportunities would be identified and communities would be consulted for feedback. Any densification would happen next to larger transit corridors. I believe most Calgarians can accept that. Current residents of that area will eventually look for ways of moving on from their current home investment. In many cases, those residents would prefer to stay in the neighbourhood they have grown accustomed to for the sake of proximity to family and friends, and familiarity with their surroundings. That is what they are trying to hold on to! If that is the case, then they will likely agree with some densification or downsizing opportunities close by that will accommodate this. The process is already in place, so I am baffled as to why it is being abandoned under the guise of ‘saving time.’ This is a significant issue to most Calgarians. And again, this is not NIMBYism!There was a pathway for this City Council to avoid the controversy.They could have tabled this initiative and added it to the ballot for the next municipal election in October of 2025. In fact, let's survey Calgarians now and add a few more questions to the ballot. That way the next council will have a mini mandate to begin with and can budget accordingly.It is more than likely this is going to be an up-coming election issue and there will be candidates who build their platforms around the removal of this zoning. And Calgarians will ride the merry go round again wasting valuable time and resources to end up using the Local Area Planning process I spoke of earlier. Until then, Calgarians will remain divided on this, but then maybe that was the intention!

WENZEL: Nobody voted for this mess!

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