Calgary mayor calls special meeting of council next Saturday amid housing crisis

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek has called for a rare Saturday meeting of council on Sept. 16 to discuss the current housing crisis.

The special meeting of council will be held two days after members are expected to hearpublic feedback on their 2024-2030 housing strategy.

Gondek posted about the Sept. 16 meeting on social media, saying council will take "swift action."

"The time to act is now," the mayor wrote, pointing out rent prices in Calgary are 40 per cent higher today than in 2021.

 

 

 

 

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On Wednesday, the city released its Housing Needs Assessment report to outline affordable housing demand in Calgary. 

The data shows people wanting to buy their first detached home in the city will need to have an annual household income of about $156,000 in order to keep housing costs below 30 per cent of their pre-tax income.

The median cost to buy a detached home has jumped by 37 per cent in the last three years. 

The annual income required to buy an apartment this year is $70,800, the city report states. 

"Calgary is experiencing a housing crisis," said Tim Ward, the city's manager of housing solutions.

"The latest data published in the Housing Needs Assessment shows us that an increasing number of Calgarians are struggling with housing affordability."

People looking to rent in Calgary will need an annual income of about $84,000 to be able to afford market prices this year -- up from an income of $67,000 needed last year. 

PUBLIC HEARING UPCOMING

Members of the public will have their say on the city's housing strategy, which contains dozens of actions to try to increase supply, support affordable housing builders and ensure equitable housing options are available.

A meeting for feedback is set for Sept. 14 and people can voice their opinion in-person, over the phone or in a written submission. 

It comes after a pair of meetings on housing in June in which council initially voted down the housing strategy, only to reverse course the very next day and approve the recommendations with some changes after pushback from the public and federal politicians. 

One point of contention for some councillors is a recommendation to make Residential-Grade-Oriented Infill District (R-CG) the default for residential zoning. 

"Changing residential zoning rules in Calgary to R-CG would simplify the process that landowners must go through if they want to build single detached homes, duplexes, triplexes, backyard suites and rowhouses," reads part of the city's explanation on the proposed zoning change. 

Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp is one of several councillors who have issues with the blanket rezoning recommendation.

She proposed a notice of motion to implement a pilot project to streamline R-CG applications instead of making it the default. 

Sharp's motion was defeated at a committee meeting Wednesday morning. 

"I keep hearing advocates of a blanket rezoning talk about how 'risky' or 'onerous' R-CG applications are, but the facts don’t bear that out. Almost 95 per cent of the RCG up-zoning applications before council since the start of our term have been approved, over 40 per cent unanimously," Sharp said in pitching her now-defeated motion. 

"Blanket rezoning of the entire city sounds like a solution in search of a problem, but it also means that five per cent are unacceptable, yet each would have been approved if the decision was solely left to city administration. I don’t think citizens should have to accept five per cent of the new development in their communities being unsatisfactory."

FEDERAL MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT CLASH ON ZONING DEBATE

As some did during council's debate back in June, a number of Federal MPs have issued statements ahead of Calgary council's debate and decision on housing. 

Michelle Rempel Garner, the MP for Calgary Nose Hill, urged council to move ahead with changes to Calgary's housing strategy and "put home building first" when considering its policies. 

"Let me be clear to everyone involved: now is not the time to continue status quo policies that have failed to build the houses Canadians need," the member of parliament wrote on social media. 

Scott Aitchison, the MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka and the Conservative Party shadow minister for housing, issued his own statement, criticizing Sharp's proposed motion to explore a pilot project, calling it a "half measure."

"Some councillors have signed onto a motion that is well intentioned but doomed to fail, because it’s not bold enough on zoning reform," Aitchison said. 

He added he supported the recommendation for blanket R-CG zoning and removing minimum parking requirements in order to build more housing quickly. 

It's a position his own CPC colleague disagrees with.

Greg McLean, the Calgary Centre MP, issued a statement saying the party doesn't have a blanket re-zoning policy and Aitchison's opinion is not supported by all members of the party. 

"Mr. Aitchison’s personal opinion should not weigh on the decisions Calgary councillors have to make in the consideration of this matter," McLean wrote. 

"Calgarians deserve to hear a range of ideas and opinions on how to tackle the growing housing crisis that our city is facing."

You can view the City of Calgary's proposed housing strategy here.