Calgary mayor and council 'incredibly focused' on rezoning plan
Calgary’s blanket rezoning plan is one of the most contentious issues to face the city in recent years, with a public hearing starting Monday morning.
As of Friday, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says 675 people are registered to speak, and 5,500 submissions have come through that are now part of the public record.
And now, two residents have gone to court, hoping to force the city to hold a plebiscite.
“I really appreciate the number of people who have gotten engaged through open houses, people who have written in, people who are coming to speak next week,” Gondek told CTV Morning Live.
- Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
With the sheer volume of response, Gondek says on Monday they will have to determine the length of meetings and how many days the discussion will last.
“I'm very much looking forward to hearing the perspective of Calgarians around our housing crisis and how this could be a solution,” said Gondek, adding the discussion could even continue into the weekend if needed.
Gondek explained the public hearing is in response to the city’s housing strategy, based on recommendations of the housing and affordability task force.
“We had a team of experts say to us that one of the ways that we can achieve more housing supply in our city is to look at rezoning,” said Gondek.
The conversation is expected to be dominated by the plan to add more high-density housing.
Calgary city council is considering amending its land-use bylaw to allow more density in all communities.
If passed, Calgary's base zoning district would be changed to R-CG, a classification that allows for row homes and duplexes to be built in residential zones.
The city has been gathering feedback on the issue through public information sessions and online webinars over the past few months and officials say, so far, about 70 per cent of respondents have been against the idea.
While there was a belief that passing the amendment was the only way to access $228 million in federal funding for affordable housing, Gondek says the proposed land-use bylaw amendment is not a prerequisite to receive that money.
"That was the housing accelerator fund money that we received from the federal government and the City of Calgary put together an application that was quite fulsome," she said.
"We had several ideas that we felt could help deliver a maximum number of units, housing units into our city, we submitted it, we received the funding."
With more than 60 people moving to Calgary everyday, Gondek says the housing situation needs to be carefully considered.
“We're incredibly focused on making sure that the housing crisis can be addressed with rezoning if that's something that's in the interest of our city.”
A press release regarding the court action read in part:
"In the originating application filed with the Court of King’s Bench, the Applicants seek a review of the Council's decision on the plebiscite, charging that the City Council misapplied several provisions of the Municipal Government Act and deprived owners of properties currently designated R-C1 and R-C2 such as the Applicants, of the current right to a public hearing concerning proposed changes to zoning of their individual property, or to object to the rezoning of neighbouring parcels. They are asking the Court to quash the decision not to hold a plebiscite and for a declaration that the decision was invalid."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
Box tree moths have infested Ontario and experts say more are coming. Here's what to do to protect your garden
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Lyon-bound Air Canada Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Montreal turns back midflight due to pressurization alert
Passengers heading from Montreal to Lyon, France on Friday were forced to return home and depart the next day after a pressurization indication was detected in flight.
VIA Rail service delayed for hours due to suspicious package investigation in Kingston, Ont.
VIA Rail service resumed in the Kingston, Ont. area late Saturday afternoon, after a suspicious package investigation halted train service for more than four hours over the Victoria Day long weekend.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
B.C. pipeline company argues its 'haulers' are not trucks, for tax purposes
A contractor working on the Coastal GasLink pipeline has been denied more than $333,000 worth of tax rebates because pieces of machinery it purchased – and claimed were not trucks – were deemed sufficiently truck-like in B.C. Supreme Court.
Usyk beats Fury by split decision, becomes undisputed heavyweight champion
Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years.
His SUV was stolen on Montreal's South Shore. Then he got a $156 parking ticket
A couple is frustrated after their SUV was stolen from Montreal's South Shore in March and they received a parking ticket for the same vehicle last week.
Banking mogul suing government after intelligence leaks leave him shut out of Canadian economy
Chinese Canadian banking mogul Shenglin Xian has launched a $300 million lawsuit against the federal government. It’s a means to find the source of intelligence leaks which Xian says has cost him his livelihood.