Calgary council set for December debate to repeal, replace blanket rezoning

Calgary city council will debate whether to scrap blanket rezoning. Meanwhile, some housing advocates say the move would be a step backward.

Any discussion about replacing blanket rezoning in Calgary has to happen at the same time as the debate to repeal the bylaw, Mayor Jeromy Farkas says.

The motion to repeal passed through committee on Monday, paving the way for the debate and decision by council as a whole on Dec. 15.

“Addressing blanket rezoning is a needed first step, but we need to make sure that we’re moving ahead with plans to actually build the housing that’s affordable and attainable for Calgarians,” Farkas said Monday.

“We can’t just wait for one to be in place to get moving on the others, which is why all of it needs to be happening simultaneously.”

Any changes made to the land-use bylaw will have to go through a public hearing.

City officials told Monday’s committee the previous public hearing on blanket rezoning, which lasted more than two weeks with more than 730 speakers, cost more than $1 million.

“We heard loud and clear from Calgarians that they wanted us to reconsider the decision that was previously made. This motion is to actually reconsider it and go to a new public hearing,” said Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot, one of the motion’s co-sponsors.

“I don’t believe the cost is going to be that much of a factor.”

Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth, a group against blanket rezoning, said Monday’s motion was a big first step toward doing the right thing.

“This election was a true plebiscite ... and the people have clearly indicated that this ill-thought-out blanket approach won’t work,” said Rusty Miller with Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth.

But housing affordability advocates argue blanket rezoning has helped start to boost housing supply and say small changes should be made to the bylaw instead of completely repealing it.

“I think there are opportunities to improve the policy and address some of the issues, but I really don’t see us making the same kind of headway on affordability when we’re rolling things back,” said Inam Teja, who was also a candidate in the most recent municipal election.

Now that the motion has been put to council, councillors will debate it next month, and if it passes, city administration will work on bylaw changes to bring back to a public hearing of council in March.