`Emotional' public hearing on blanket rezoning starts
More than 700 people sign up to speak at marathon meeting
Hundreds of Calgarians gathered at city hall on Monday, as a marathon public hearing got underway to consider a contentious proposal to change zoning regulations citywide.
The hearing is expected to last a week or longer before council will debate whether to approve a land-use bylaw amendment to change Calgary's default residential zoning district to residential grade-oriented infill — usually shortened to R-CG.
The change would allow a higher variety of low-density housing forms — including duplexes, fourplexes and row houses — in residential neighbourhoods currently zoned for single-family detached homes. R-CG would also allow units to add a secondary suite and backyard suite.
Dozens of people lined up inside the municipal building atrium Monday morning, hoping to register last-minute for a five-minute time-slot to share their thoughts with council.
With the public gallery in council chambers at capacity, dozens more watched a livestream of the meeting on television screens in the atrium.
Meanwhile, two separate rallies were held outside city hall — one in the morning with roughly 100 pickets opposed to the proposed blanket rezoning, and one in the early afternoon with roughly the same number of attendees who support the notion.
Bridgeland resident Tony Imbrogno said he felt compelled to attend the morning rally to voice his opposition to blanket rezoning, which would remove the public hearings that currently allow residents to provide feedback on individual rezoning applications.
Taking away this step in the redevelopment process would prevent residents from having a say in how their communities develop, Imbrogno said.
“The land-use amendment is an opportunity to go before council and put forward how residents are thinking about a certain development proposal,” he said.
“(Blanket rezoning) is taking away communities' ability to take part in growth.”
As someone who already lives in an inner-city community with above-average density, Imbrogno argued densification has resulted in pros and cons for Bridgeland. While an influx of recent condo development has bolstered business for shops along Centre Avenue, he noted it's also created issues with Bridgeland's traffic congestion and parking availability.
It's also led to the removal of residential trees, and wear-and-tear on public roads and sidewalks, Imbrogno said.
“Rezoning is not paying attention to those costs,” he said.
Throughout Monday, speakers addressed council in panels of five, alternating between groups that support the rezoning proposal and groups that oppose the idea.
The first speaker was Colin Mccann, who said he supports blanket rezoning. As a self-professed “staunch conservative” with a home in an area that would be affected if blanket rezoning is approved, he argued the change would reduce red tape in redeveloping homes.
“The need for development permits is understandable, but zoning — perhaps much less so,” he said, noting that council already approves the vast majority of rezoning applications. “For 95-plus per cent of projects that could create housing, the only thing the zoning process adds are time and cost.”
Mccann also argued housing prices follow the law of supply and demand, and that Calgary's growth in demand has exceeded the housing supply.
In the second panel, Michael Zwiers told council that blanket rezoning would only benefit developers and not help with Calgary's housing affordability.
“For decades, Calgary has followed a process of land-use planning, development planning and neighbourhood planning to create a city that is good for people to live in and ... an exceptional quality of life,” he said. “But now, city councillors want to open up the entire city to potentially dramatic changes in housing density, a mishmash of housing development.
“I'm not against development, I'm not against densification, but I am against giving any single industry near unfettered access to make changes without considering the implications for other aspects of our community life.”
While there were some no-shows on Monday, with more than 740 registered speakers and more than 5,000 written public submissions, the meeting could last until early next week, making it the longest public hearing in Calgary's history.
After the public hearing portion is completed, council will deliberate administration's recommendation.
During a noon scrum with reporters, Mayor Jyoti Gondek hinted that amendments to the proposal could come forward during council's deliberations.
“I don't believe this will be a straight up and down vote,” she said.
“There's all kinds of opportunities for council to take the things we've heard from the community and make what is before us stronger and more clear.”
Gondek said the turnout at city hall on Monday highlights the importance Calgarians have placed on the issue.
“This is very emotional for people,” she said. “A lot of people's home is their greatest asset. People are worried about what they're going to get and people want to be heard. They want their concerns to either be addressed or for some changes to be made to the motion.
“That's what we're trying to do — listen to everyone and make sure we do the right thing.”