Calgary rezoning debate continues into day three
Three days into Calgary's public hearing on proposed rezoning and nearly 200 speakers later, some councillors say there's a clear pattern when it comes to what they're hearing from people presenting.
"Typically younger Calgarians under the age of 50 are coming out in support (of proposed blanket rezoning) and we're seeing a lot of older Calgarians, homeowners over the age of 50, speaking against," said Jasmine Mian, the ward 3 councillor.
"I think it's because they have had very different lived experiences with the housing market. And younger people typically want to see change and are demanding us to take action," she said.
Panels of young people, including several representing post-secondary students, showed up at City Hall on Wednesday to voice their support for rezoning to R-CG.
"Young people are denied agency over housing choices and subsequently the direction of our lives," said Hanna Crisostomo, a University of Calgary student and representative with the Urban Calgary Students Association.
Crisostomo presented a letter to council signed by 146 students who supported blanket rezoning.
"The decision to embrace change will mean the difference between building a resilient city for the future, or continuing down the path where one in five Calgarians cannot afford their housing," she said.
MAJORITY AGAINST
Still, the vast majority of feedback the city has received on the rezoning issue has been in opposition. Speaker after speaker lined up Wednesday to call on council to vote down blanket rezoning, citing concerns over the impacts it could have on community character and parking.
"Older people tend to want to move into quieter communities -- single-family residential, maybe with fewer neighbours," said Coun. Andre Chabot.
"But if you're younger and you're raising a young family, you want to be in a higher density," he added.
It will still be days before council will start its debate and present amendments over proposed changes. Councillors say they will need seek to find a balance as it tries to implement its housing strategy.
Statistics from city administration estimates one in five Calgarians struggle with housing affordability and upzoning, if passed, could add about 1,500 homes per year by streamlining the process.
"I'm looking at what we do to make sure that housing is in good supply for everyone in our city, not just right now, but well into the future," said Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Drive one of these vehicles? You may pay 37 per cent more than average insurance costs due to thefts
As the number of auto theft incidents rises in Canada, so have insurance premiums for drivers, even the ones whose vehicles aren't stolen.
'I'm not wealthy': Ontario senior shocked she owes $40,000 in capital gains after gifting land
An Ontario senior who wanted to help her daughter and grandson eventually own homes one day decided to give them two lots on her property as a gift—but she didn’t know it would eventually cost her tens of thousands of dollars.
NDP want Liberals to scrap proposed election date change that could secure pensions for many MPs
The federal New Democrats want to amend the Liberal government's electoral reform legislation to scrap the proposal to push back the vote by a week and consequently secure pensions for dozens of MPs, CTV News has learned.
These are the world's 20 best cities for foodies, according to Time Out
Some travellers pick a city break based on the destination’s cultural offerings. Others eye up cities with buzzy nightlife or opt for a destination hosting a festival or event. But for many vacationers, the most exciting part of any trip is the food.
Israel's war cabinet minister moves to dissolve parliament: statement
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz's centrist party has proposed holding a vote to dissolve parliament in a bid to bring about an early election, his party said in a statement on Thursday.
DEVELOPING BMO clients face outages in Canada, U.S. following data centre fire alarm
Bank of Montreal clients on both sides of the border Thursday morning have reported outages with banking services. BMO said its technical team is investigating.
Exorbitant fees get Gazans out with no help from Ottawa
The comforting sound of giggling grandchildren has chased away the cloud of anxiety that has loomed over Mohammed and Intisar Nofal's home for the past seven months.
Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., begins RBC Canadian Open defence
Nick Taylor begins the defence of his RBC Canadian Open title this morning.
B.C. mortgage broker ran $270-million Ponzi scheme, then fled Canada, bankruptcy trustee says
The trustee appointed to manage the bankruptcies of a Victoria mortgage company and its owner has concluded that they committed "numerous offences" and operated as a "massive Ponzi scheme."