A motion to repeal citywide rezoning cleared its first hurdle at Calgary city hall Monday, as millions in federal funding could be on the line if the contentious policy is scrapped.
The motion, co-signed by six city councillors and Mayor Jeromy Farkas, calls on city administration to revert the city’s land-use bylaw to what it was prior to the previous city council approving citywide rezoning, but would exclude properties that had development permits approved prior to the motion or any currently under review in the permit process.
“Calgarians told the vast majority of us, including myself as mayor, that blanket rezoning hasn’t been the approach to build the housing that is affordable, in the right places with community support,” Farkas told reporters. “We’re acting immediately on the concerns Calgarians told us during the election.”
The motion was approved following a technical review by the city’s Executive Committee on Monday morning with 13 councillors voting in favour; just Ward 7 Coun. Myke Atkinson and Ward 8 Coun. Nathaniel Schmidt voted against.
Notices of motion aren’t debated at committee, but rather reviewed for their technical and legal merit.
However, Schmidt questioned if repealing the policy could open the city up to lawsuits and was warned for using language like “regressive” to characterize the move.
“This certainly opens us up to more avenues for legal liability,” he told reporters. “That is certainly top of mind for me, and why I wanted to ask those questions right away because as the fiduciaries of the city, we have a responsibility to ensure that we are not putting ourselves into any kind of legal jeopardy with the decisions that we make.”
The motion will now be debated by city council at a meeting in December. If it is approved, city administration would be directed to draft an amendment to the city’s land-use bylaw that would require a public hearing in March, a date that changed from mid-February.
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Administration noted the previous public hearing on the matter cost $1.2 million.
The previous city council approved the plan to change the city’s default residential zoning in May 2024, after the longest public hearing in city history that saw the majority of speakers opposition to the idea.
The move changed Calgary’s land-use bylaw to make residential grade-oriented infill (R-CG) the default residential zoning district across the city, which allows for a variety of housing types including single-detached, semi-detached, duplexes and rowhouses on a single lot.
However, the motion claims the rezoning policy has “failed to deliver greater housing affordability,” and created public concern around loss of neighbourhood character, increased pressure on infrastructure, inadequate parking in established communities, as well as traffic congestion on roads and in alleyways due to the city’s blue, black and green card program.
Robert Lehodey with Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth, a group opposed to citywide rezoning, said the motion is “a very good start,” but hopes “tweaks” can be made ahead of December’s debate.
“What we’d like to see changed would simply be that things are put on hold and that they don’t accept additional development permits,” he said.
The move could also place federal housing funding in jeopardy.
Calgary was awarded $251.3 million, including top-ups, from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund following the adoption of citywide rezoning in 2024 with $129.5 million still owed to the city by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
In a statement, CMHC said it is “aware of Calgary’s proposal and are reviewing the details.”
“We expect municipalities to fulfill their agreements,” the statement said. “If a partner’s agreed upon commitments aren’t met or are reversed, this puts their HAF funding at risk.”
Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot said Calgary has exceeded housing targets set out by the federal government by 104 per cent.
“The idea they’re going to claw back money when we’ve exceeded all the targets they’ve given us is unrealistic in my opinion,” he told reporters. “It would be going back on their own commitment that they’d give us this money if achieved certain objectives.”
A recent report from CMHC found Calgary and Edmonton “lead the way” when it comes to development of housing types included in citywide rezoning due to lower regulatory burden.
Inam Teja, a housing policy expert who ran unsuccessfully for city council in Ward 6, said citywide rezoning has had an impact on reducing the cost of homes and increasing housing supply.
He said the concerns with citywide rezoning can be addressed through amendments and not a full repeal.
“A lot of the problems around tree cover, around lots of garbage bins, are solvable problems,” Teja said. “You don’t need to burn the house down to get the mouse, you can just amend it, work on some of those operational things, bring in rules around tree cover, around community garbage.”
Although Farkas ran on a promise to repeal and replace citywide rezoning, the motion lacks details around what would replace the policy.
The mayor was unclear what he’s eyeing for a potential replacement or when that could be introduced.
“There’s so many different moving parts to this,” Farkas said. “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.”
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