Hundreds set to speak as Calgary considers blanket rezoning next week
More than 650 people have signed up to speak about proposed Calgary rezoning rules next week at what officials are calling the "largest public hearing that the city has ever held."
Ahead of what is likely to be a meeting that stretches through all of next week, the city has also received more than 5,500 written submissions about the issue, captured on about 13,000 pages attached to the hearing's agenda.
The city is holding the session before council will have to decide whether to amend the land-use bylaw to allow for more density housing across Calgary communities.
What's proposed is city-wide rezoning to a Residential-Grade-Oriented (R-CG) district, which would allow for more housing options such as duplexes and rowhouses on a parcel of land. Proposed development projects would still have to go through the same development permit application process before construction is allowed to start.
Monday's public hearing will start at 9:30 a.m. and will run until 9:30 p.m. each day.
Housing need vs. community concerns
In feedback gathered from a series of information sessions and online webinars over the last several months, the city says about 70 per cent of respondents were in opposition to the blanket zoning changes.
According to a 'What We Heard' report released by the city, people have concerns about the impact rezoning could have on parking, community character, demand on existing infrastructure and the effect the changes could have on property values.
But people also say zoning changes could help boost the supply of homes during the ongoing housing crisis. Eliminating the need to go through the land-use applications for each project would allow homes to be built quicker, supporters of blanket rezoning say.
There are 43 attachments to Monday's meeting agenda with each attachment containing hundreds of pages of written submissions about the issue.
"Calgarians make decisions on where they want to live based on the kinds of neighbourhoods they want to live in," reads one of the thousands of submissions in opposition to the zoning changes.
"Blanket rezoning for condensed living projects will completely change the neighborhoods that these citizens worked so hard to invest in," the submission says.
"This will reduce red tape, give property owners more freedom to build on their property and increase housing supply that is desperately needed," writes someone in favour of the blanket changes.
"It will also increase tax base and help the city fund the services that all residents require."
People can still sign up to speak at next week's meeting and presenters can attend in-person or remotely. Those who register will be assigned a panel number and approximate time for when they're expected to speak to council.
For more information, go here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Ontario man loses $1,500 applying for Nexus cards on social media
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Campus protests: Israeli academics say their universities are 'best chance' for peace
One of the demands of pro-Palestinian activists who have set up protest encampments on university campuses in Canada and the United States is a severing of ties with Israeli universities.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.