Calgary repeals blanket rezoning, considers replacement rules for housing

City council scrapped a contentious blanket rezoning bylaw on Wednesday after hundreds of speakers weighed in. Now work begins to determine what comes next.

Calgary councillors have voted in favour of getting rid of the contentious blanket rezoning housing policy, but are working through approvals of a slew of new rules for the future of development in the city.

The decision came Wednesday after a public hearing that spanned eight days.

More than 3,200 written submissions were provided and 411 speakers addressed the issue over parts of three weeks, with most of the responses speaking in favour of repealing the land use changes that were implemented two years ago.

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“Many Calgarians felt, with the previous decision to adopt blanket rezoning, that it had created uncertainty and it really broke the trust in the planning process,” said Mayor Jeromy Farkas.

“Beginning the process to repeal is critically important to be able to restore the trust that Calgarians have in the overall process,” he said.

Councillors voted 12-3 in favour of rolling back the zoning rules.

Couns. Myke Atkinson, Andrew Yule and Nathaniel Schmidt voted against.

Additional amendments will be debated throughout the day.

The now-defeated bylaw, passed in 2024, zoned residential lots in the city as Residential - Grade-Oriented Infill (R-CG) allowing for more housing types on what was previously a single-family lot.

R-CG made the approval process easier to build more housing types, such as semi-detached, rowhomes and townhomes.

In reversing that move, the city will redesignate more than 300,000 residential parcels of land to the original low-density districts.

It means just over two-thirds of the city’s residential lots will allow for only a single-family detached home and a suite.

“What I’m looking to do is go back to square one so that we can actually design something that’s built-in-Calgary,” said Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot as he moved the motion to repeal.

The updates on Wednesday also change the R-CG rules to prohibit rowhomes and townhomes from being built mid-block and lowers the maximum amount of units on R-CG lots to three principal dwellings and three suites each.

That’s down from the previous rules allowing for four principal dwellings and four suites.

“The biggest barriers to building more housing is not in zoning. It is in this building, in our own administration, our own processes and our own delays,” said Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean.

“What (blanket rezoning) has done is divide communities and has created uncertainty,” he said.

Blanket rezoning has stirred controversy since it was first pitched as part of a long list of recommendations to build more housing in the city.

Public speakers at city hall touted concerns with how blanket rezoning could change the character of their communities.

A court challenge was filed in late 2024 in an effort to overturn blanket rezoning, but the filing was rejected in early 2025.

In a city report recommending repealing the bylaw, officials pointed out the move would “introduce more time to redevelop and may slow community evolution” and could “make it harder for younger Calgarians and first-time buyers to enter the housing market.”

Regardless, administration said responding to broad public concerns outweighs blanket rezoning’s environmental and economic benefits.

The redesignations and changes to R-CG are expected to become official in early August.

Unclear how changes impact federal funds

As thousands of residential land lots revert back to low-density designations, it remains unclear whether Calgary will receive the full slate of the more than $250 million promised by the federal government.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) had previously committed those funds to Calgary to build more housing through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) as an award to the local government for changing housing policies to build homes faster.

In a statement to CTV News, the CMHC said it will continue to work with the City ahead of a decision on its HAF funding."

“CMHC expects municipalities to fulfill their commitments and has been working closely with the City throughout this process. If commitments are not met or are reversed, HAF funding is at risk. All funding decisions will be shared publicly,” the statement said.