{"id":820570,"date":"2026-07-23T09:53:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/820570\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T09:53:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:53:11","slug":"calgary-city-council-once-again-faces-multi-day-public-hearing-on-blanket-rezoning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/820570\/","title":{"rendered":"Calgary city council once again faces multi-day public hearing on blanket rezoning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calgary city hall watchers may feel like they’re seeing a rerun on Wednesday, as councillors sat down for another day in the second marathon public hearing this year about zoning.<\/p>\n

Council is faced with a decision this week about whether to exempt hundreds of properties from blanket rezoning’s repeal. More than 100 public speakers have signed up to address council about the decision this week, and the city has received 500 written submissions on the subject.<\/p>\n

Council voted 12-3 in April to repeal blanket rezoning<\/a>, after it was introduced in 2024. The policy allowed more multi-unit developments, like rowhouses or fourplexes, on lots previously only zoned for single-family homes. <\/p>\n

Ahead of the vote to repeal, councillors heard from more than 400 speakers earlier this year, and received nearly 3,300 written submissions during a marathon public hearing.<\/p>\n

The repeal goes into effect on Aug. 4. Council already approved an exemption for properties where development permit applications were approved or submitted between blanket rezoning’s introduction in 2024 and the end of last year.<\/p>\n

\"AnCalgary city council introduced blanket rezoning to accommodate more density as the city’s population grows. (Chelsey Mutter\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Now, council is tasked with deciding whether 247 additional properties will retain their zoning for higher density housing, because they met the same exemption criteria before April 8, when council voted to repeal.<\/p>\n

Council heard from 37 people on Tuesday, before returning Wednesday morning to continue the public hearing. They will vote to make a decision after hearing from all of the registered public speakers.<\/p>\n

City could face legal risk<\/p>\n

Mayor Jeromy Farkas said provincial legislation requires the city to honour developments under the zoning that was in place when their application was submitted. He said the city needs to weigh residents’ concerns against a potential legal risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s a project under construction and council came in and changed the zoning back, you\u2019d be open to a massive amount of damages,\u201d said Farkas.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust in the spirit of fairness, but also transparency and reducing legal risk to city taxpayers, we had to allow for some grandfathering-in provisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MoreMore than 300 members of the public registered to speak before city council earlier this year in the last marathon session on blanket rezoning. (Nick Brizuela\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Farkas said he expects another set of zoning exemptions will be discussed by council this fall.<\/p>\n

While council could revisit its criteria to exempt some properties from its repeal decision, Ward 4 Coun. DJ Kelly said he doesn\u2019t think there is a will among councillors to explore that change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been very clear since December about exactly what the process was going to be,\u201d said Kelly. <\/p>\n

“Any homeowner who would have engaged in that process in good faith, I think that we owe it to them to engage likewise in good faith.”<\/p>\n

WATCH | Council hears public feedback this week on blanket rezoning exemptions:\"\"<\/p>\n

Blanket rezoning back at city hall as council mulls repeal exemptions<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Calgarians gathered at city hall for another marathon public hearing. This time, it\u2019s to address development proposals that received approval before council voted in April to repeal city-wide rezoning. As CBC’s Brendan Coulter explains, Calgary’s mayor is concerned that any new changes could open the city to legal trouble.<\/p>\n

Guy Buchanan, one of the registered public speakers, arrived at city hall on Tuesday to argue council does not need to provide zoning exemptions to developers. He said that in cases where the permit process was not complete, the developers should still be vulnerable to zoning changes.<\/p>\n

He said developers can apply to redesignate the land, so the surrounding community can be consulted about the development.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncil should have made the decision way back when to not allow these exemptions,\u201d said Buchanan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thinking about those homeowners, and there\u2019s many, many of them that are impacted. Anyone can sue anyone, but that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re going to win. Council has the power to change land use, so I think that\u2019s what they should do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calgary’s strategy to replace blanket rezoning<\/p>\n

During his 2025 mayoral election campaign<\/a>, Farkas ran to repeal blanket rezoning and replace it with a strategy to better manage growth and density.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, he suggested a more aggressive approach to local area plans<\/a>, but the motion was voted down 10-5 by council.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Farkas said the city\u2019s strategy now involves transportation and capital investments for transit-oriented communities, upfronting capital for affordable housing, partnering with other levels of government to support not-for-profits, and streamlining permitting and approvals for private sector developments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not replacing blanket rezoning with a new blanket rezoning,\u201d said Farkas. <\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the housing advocates have been asking for that, but that idea was completely rejected in the 2025 municipal election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lori Williams, associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University, said it\u2019s possible for council to find a more nuanced approach to zoning policy. But she said it will be difficult for council to find a solution that satisfies everyone.<\/p>\n

She said the city has reverted to an approach to housing that many found too cumbersome, especially as the city\u2019s population grows, but residents still want a say in how their neighbourhoods develop.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s visceral. People are talking about their homes and the impact that this will have on their homes or their ability to get housing,\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Calgary city hall watchers may feel like they’re seeing a rerun on Wednesday, as councillors sat down for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":820571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48],"class_list":["post-820570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/820571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}