{"id":622405,"date":"2026-04-23T02:53:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T02:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/622405\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T02:53:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T02:53:12","slug":"calgary-to-continue-receiving-housing-accelerator-fund-after-citywide-rezoning-repeal-calgary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/622405\/","title":{"rendered":"Calgary to continue receiving Housing Accelerator Fund after citywide rezoning repeal – Calgary"},"content":{"rendered":"

The City of Calgary<\/a> will receive its third installment of federal housing funds previously deemed \u201cat-risk\u201d over council\u2019s decision to repeal citywide rezoning, but the final payment comes with new conditions.<\/p>\n

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On Wednesday, Mayor Jeromy Farkas announced the federal government had reaffirmed the city would receive the next instalment of the Housing Accelerator Fund<\/a> (HAF), set to total $64.7 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a validation that what we\u2019re doing here in Calgary is working, we\u2019re leading the country in building housing of all types for all stages of life.\u201d Farkas said at a news conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to continue to lead and thanks to this most recent validation and re-endorsement from the federal government, the path forward is a lot more clear for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calgary was awarded $251.3 million, including top-ups, from the federal fund with $122.9 million allocated through the first two installments.<\/p>\n

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However, there has been an ongoing back and forth<\/a> about the remaining $129 million in HAF funding earmarked for Calgary, with warnings<\/a> from both city administration and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation that the funds may be \u201cat risk\u201d dependent on council\u2019s decision on citywide rezoning.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalgarians were clear, a blanket approach to rezoning did not fit our city,\u201d Farkas said. \u201cSo we hit reset.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, city council repealed citywide rezoning, a move that will see 306,774 residential properties across the city re-designated back to their original low-density residential districts.<\/p>\n

The policy, which was adopted by the previous city council in 2024, changed the city\u2019s base residential zoning to allow for more housing types to be developed on a single residential property like rowhomes and duplexes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no requirement under that agreement for blanket rezoning, no way, no how, no shape,\u201d said Robert Lehodey with Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth. \u201cThere was no legal basis for CMHC or the federal government to even suggest the money was not forthcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Although the decision didn\u2019t impact the third instalment of the fund, the fourth and final instalment scheduled for April 2027 will now face new conditions.<\/p>\n

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\u201cRecognizing the progress that Calgary has made to date and Mayor Farkas\u2019 commitment to develop a \u2018more nuanced approach to land use policy\u2019 that continues to align with the city\u2019s HAF commitments, the decision was made to issue Calgary\u2019s third HAF installment with certain conditions,\u201d a spokesperson for federal housing minister\u00a0 Gregor Robertson wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n

Those conditions include that council indicate it will adopt a zoning replacement that \u201callows a minimum of four units to be built on a lot for a significant majority of lots across the city,\u201d and that the replacement plan is \u201cin effect or significantly developed\u201d prior to Oct. 27, 2026.<\/p>\n

In a letter to the mayor, Robertson said he believes \u201cthis ties in well\u201d with Farkas\u2019 previous statements to repeal and replace citywide rezoning.<\/p>\n

A replacement plan for the contentious policy was also a campaign commitment from Farkas, housing advocates said Wednesday, and the reaffirmed funding \u201cdoesn\u2019t change that equation.\u201d<\/p>\n

NEW: Here\u2019s the letter from the federal housing minister to Mayor Jeromy Farkas about the third instalment of Calgary\u2019s Housing Accelerator Funding. <\/p>\n

Conditions include a zoning replacement in effect by the end of October. pic.twitter.com\/F90surpu8k<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Adam MacVicar (@AdamMacVicar) April 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cThat is still a commitment he has not honoured,\u201d said Willem Klumpenhouwer, co-founder of More Neighbours Calgary. \u201cSo I\u2019d like to see that commitment regardless of what the federal funding situation looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Farkas, he will not replace citywide rezoning with \u201ca new blanket rezoning\u201d and Calgary is within \u201cstriking range\u201d of allowing four units as a right on half of residential properties in the city.<\/p>\n

He noted this can be achieved partly due to growth in new neighbourhoods on the city\u2019s outskirts that are already zoned to allow for four units.<\/p>\n

However, Farkas said he\u2019d consider forgoing the final instalment of HAF money if a new plan can\u2019t be developed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a discussion and debate that needs to be had by our council in full consultation with Calgarians, in terms of how and if we go down that road, and whether the say $60 million or so may be worth that level of approach,\u201d Farkas said.<\/p>\n

According to some on council, there is a desire to seek a \u201cbuilt-in-Calgary\u201d approach to increasing density in the city\u2019s established neighbourhoods through local area plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some places it makes no sense to have (four units as a right), and in some places it makes sense to have eight, or 10 or 12,\u201d said Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot. \u201cLet\u2019s look at achieving that more as an average rather than a site specific four by right.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ward 4 Coun. DJ Kelly said he hopes the new federal conditions \u201clight a little bit of a fire underneath city council\u201d to get to work on a replacement plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt also aligns with what we heard during the public hearing that density can exist in the city in appropriate places,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cIf we put those appropriate changes in place, which I believe are relatively minor, then we can get the rest of the funding as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to city officials, 61,000 units have been built in Calgary since 2023 with HAF supporting 13,000 of those units, as well as 1,500 non-market units.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis third and fourth payment will be supporting just over 1,000 non-market units,\u201d said City of Calgary chief housing officer Reid Hendry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s immensely important we get this third and fourth payment so we can continue to lean in on that non-market housing gap that we have here at the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original housing targets set out by the federal government\u00a0included 41,858 new housing units by October 2026.<\/p>\n

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