'Not very happy about it': Calgary residents voice concerns about blanket rezoning proposal

Calgary residents gathered at an open house on Tuesday to have their voices heard on proposed blanket rezoning throughout the city.

The rezoning, if approved, would allow for the development of medium-density housing, such as duplexes and row houses, without applying to the city for a land-use change.

Hundreds packed into an open house in Lake Bonavista to voice their opinions about the proposal directly to their councillor.

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Many residents were concerned about how the rezoning would affect property value in the neighbourhood.

“I think that council is trying to ram in the rezoning without our opinion,” one woman at the open house told CTV News. “This affects Calgarians that bought in communities that have low density, we paid the money, we picked these communities, and now you want to wreck them?”

“I was under the impression that this has already been a ram-through deal, that they’re going to rezone everything, and I don’t think it’s appropriate in this community in particular, but overall city-wide I don’t think it’s appropriate,” a man attending the open house said.

Residents packed into an open house in Lake Bonavista regarding Calgary's proposed blanket rezoning, on April 9, 2024. (CTV News)

The open house was one of two being put on by Ward 14 Coun. Peter Demong.

“We had several hundred constituents come out to hear about the new housing issues that are coming forward, and the vast majority were really not very happy about it,” Demong said Tuesday.

“I’m not surprised at all that the vast majority of these people are not in favour of the blanket rezoning. These are their homes, this is their lives that we’re playing with.”

Demong said he believes the city could have done a better job of consulting the public before rolling out the proposal.

A month ago, city council voted 8-6 against putting the issue to a plebiscite.

The second Ward 14 open house is on Thursday. A public hearing on the blanket rezoning issue is scheduled for April 22 at city hall.

How would rezoning affect your property?

The proposed plan would result in a city-wide rezoning, re-designating properties that currently only allow single or semi-detached homes as:

• R-CG in established communities – which is primarily for rowhouses, but also allows for single detached, side-by-side and duplex homes that may include a secondary suite;
• R-G in newer communities – which allows for a mix of low-density housing, including single-detached, side-by-side, duplex, cottage housing clusters and rowhouse development, all of which can include a secondary suite; or
• H-GO in newer communities – which allows for “higher intensity redevelopment than that of R-CG, but still maintains direct ground-level access for all homes (i.e. no apartment forms).”

The city emphasized that the rezoning would not prevent property owners from replacing existing homes with new single-detached homes, removing single-family developments or solely support rowhousing developments.

You can search your address on the City of Calgary’s interactive map to see how the proposed rezoning would affect your property.