Calgary city council has voted in favour of a bylaw that will effectively repeal the city’s blanket rezoning policy, following a lengthy public hearing in recent weeks and hours of debate at city hall Wednesday morning.

Councillors voted 12-3 to give first reading to the proposed bylaw, which would change blanket R-CG zoning and return affected properties to their previous zoning. Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Yule, Ward 7 Coun. Myke Atkinson and Ward 8 Coun. Nathaniel Schmidt voted in opposition

Council was set to reconvene Wednesday afternoon to consider amendments to the bylaw before voting on a second reading.

The vote comes after thousands of Calgarians weighed in during a two-week public hearing that wrapped Tuesday.

Debate inside council chambers Wednesday morning was impassioned, with many councillors delivering prepared remarks ahead of voting on the repeal.

Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean said the vote reflects what he described as a clear message from residents, arguing the blanket rezoning policy has divided communities and eroded public trust.

Speaking to reporters, Mayor Jeromy Farkas said his vote in favour of repeal was “to help begin the process of restoring trust.”

“It’s very clear that blanket rezoning as a one-size-fits-all solution wasn’t going to deliver the results that Calgarians needed,” Farkas said.

Coun. Atkinson said the repeal will not address concerns he’s been hearing from residents regarding developments approved under citywide rezoning.

“Repealing this does not get rid of R-CG townhomes. It just makes it so that they have to go through a land use change,” he said. “It doesn’t address what I’ve been hearing from residents, which is, we need fixes that address our tree canopy coverage and fixes that address parking concerns and overdensification concerns within our neighbourhoods.”

Related

Calgary’s blanket rezoning policy, adopted in 2024, made residential grade-oriented (R-CG) the default zoning in neighbourhoods previously limited to single-detached homes, allowing more housing types such as duplexes and row houses to be built without requiring a separate zoning approval.

Supporters argue the change has reduced red tape and acccelerated needed housing construction, while opponents have expressed concerns about issues related to densification, such as limited parking and building design.

Nearly two years ago, hundreds of Calgarians flocked to city hall to have their say before city council elected to change residential zoning rules across the city.

More to come.