Calgary to start repealing blanket rezoning

Blanket rezoning is being repealed. The city will start the process to roll back the policy, but it won't be gone until next year.

Calgary councillors voted in favour of ordering city administration to start rolling back blanket rezoning changes first brought in back in 2024, but final decisions will still come next year.

A 13-2 vote on Monday affirms the first step in moving the land-use rules back to what they were prior to citywide rezoning last year.

However, a decision on a new amended bylaw will have to go through a public hearing in March, similar to the two-week-long marathon hearing that took place last April.

Councillors Myke Atkinson and Nathaniel Schmidt voted against the motion to start repealing blanket rezoning.

“The best way forward is how it should have been done in the first place, from my perspective, which is to look at a process where the people can actually buy into what the city’s proposing,” said Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot, who brought forth the motion.

“And we heard through the public hearing that people were not buying into this.”

The motion to repeal blanket rezoning includes exemptions for properties that have already received permit approvals under R-CG, R-G or H-GO land-use districts or projects included in applications submitted before the first reading of a new bylaw.

Land already redesignated after Aug. 6, 2024, is also exempt from the rezoning repeal.

While the rezoning reversal is underway, the mayor says conversations will begin immediately about a different path forward for a housing strategy in the city.

“Going forward, we need to be able to show Calgarians that we’re continuing to build the needed housing,” Jeromy Farkas said.

“If it’s not through a blanket, one-size-fits-all approach, it needs to be in a more targeted way, closer to education, employment (and) infrastructure services.

“We still have to continue to build needed housing, but it needs to be done more in a thoughtful way.”

Scott Rusty Miller with Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth says the push to repeal has been rooted in public opposition expressed both at city hall and at the ballot box.

“By the city’s own count, a majority of speakers opposed it, and the vast majority of people who wrote in opposed it,” Miller said.

“Then we had that same moment during the municipal election of 2025, when voters returned a council majority on the explicit promise to repeal that bylaw and start again with real, community-specific planning. That’s what democratic legitimacy looks like.”

Supporters of the repeal argue the blanket approach overrides Local Area Plans and proceeds without neighbourhood-level assessments of infrastructure, traffic and parking.

Miller also points to legal challenges and appeals following the bylaw’s approval as evidence of broader public resistance.

“We saw lawsuits started, and we saw a spike in appeals to the [Subdivision and Development Appeal Board],” he said.

“Failing to listen to people ultimately results in a failure of your policy.”

Opponents of the repeal warn reversing the policy could slow housing construction at a time when Calgary continues to experience strong population growth and affordability pressures.

Some economists and housing policy analysts, like the Fraser Institute, argue broader rezoning can give builders more certainty and help increase supply, which might put downward pressure on prices.

Miller says his group is not opposed to new housing but wants a different approach.

“Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach that treats every street in the city the same, we’re looking for an opportunity to sit down with communities,” he said.

“Calgary is a city of distinct communities, and those residents can help determine where increased density makes sense.”

If council votes in favour of the notice of motion, the proposed repeal would move to a public hearing, giving Calgarians another opportunity to weigh in before any final decision is made.

Affordable housing

Bryan Romanesky, board chair of Onward Homes, says demand for affordable housing remains extremely high, particularly for the type of deep-subsidy housing his company provides.

“Nothing is broken,” Romanesky said.

“I think it’s just a matter of keeping improving what we have in place.”

Onward Homes offers rent subsidies of around 50 per cent of market rates identified by CMHC, with the goal of helping Calgarians who cannot enter the traditional housing market.

Romanesky says upzoning has created an influx of new townhomes on the market but hasn’t really helped his company since it mostly focuses on apartments.

“If we put aside the political issues of whether we want this in our communities, and maybe we should think about where exactly, as opposed to everywhere, it’s still an important debate to have,” he said.

“Densifying the inner city at higher density can create long-term financial benefits for the city.”

Romanesky says the main hurdle for building affordable housing is navigating multiple levels of government.

“Every level of government is trying hard to streamline processes, but the compliance milestones for financing, purchasing and permitting can be challenging,” he said.

“What’s missing is probably a better understanding of each other’s responsibilities so we can (in) parallel work more effectively and reduce timelines. We’ve improved processes over the past five years, but there’s still work to do.”