Houses and apartments in Calgary's Sunnyside neighbourhood sit at the base of McHugh Bluff on March 29, 2023.Jude Brocke/The Globe and Mail
Calgary City Council voted to allow greater housing density in all neighbourhoods after 12 days of contentious hearings that featured more than 700 members of the public, the majority of them opposed.
The zoning rules, which take effect this summer, will make it legal to build row houses, semi-detached homes and fourplexes in the large parts of the city where only single-family homes are now allowed.
The changes approved by Calgary’s city council are part of a wave of upzonings in municipalities across Canada, in many cases prompted by the promise of federal funding. Ottawa has used its Housing Accelerator Fund to impose conditions on cities that include ending single-family zoning and instead allowing multiplexes on every lot by default.
While some local governments have expressed skepticism, most have changed their zoning rules anyway and signed agreements with Ottawa. A notable exception is Windsor, Ont., whose council rejected blanket upzoning earlier this year.
In Calgary, the city reached a $228-million deal through the Housing Accelerator Fund in exchange for promising to increase housing downtown, streamline approvals and allow growth in established neighbourhoods.
In an interview Wednesday, the morning after the rezoning was approved, Mayor Jyoti Gondek stressed that it was only part of Calgary’s housing strategy. She pointed to nearly 100 other measures that include making city land available for affordable housing.
“It’s an important step forward,” she said. “I think it will show that the city is focused on ensuring that we retain the people that are in our city and we welcome those who are coming here.”
Brent Toderian, an international consultant who was formerly a planner in both Calgary and Vancouver, said upzoning is not a cure-all for the housing affordability crisis. But he added that it is an important step not to set aside vast swaths of cities for single-family homes.
“It’s a big deal and it will lead to more housing choice,” he said. “It’s a particularly big deal when a city like Calgary does it, because we have the ability to say ‘well, if Calgary has done this, why can’t you?’”
“As-of-right” zoning allowing greater density has been one of the biggest changes in Canadian housing policy in decades. But it has come with controversy.
Owners of single-family homes often argue that their asset will be devalued by more density. Others worry about losing parking access, trees being cut down and overcrowded schools. An anti-renter current runs through many of these debates.
In Calgary, the public hearings on an already contentious topic were turned into “a powder keg,” said Councillor Evan Spencer. He cited a number of unrelated factors including the unpopularity of Ms. Gondek, who was separately facing a recall petition, and partisan politics.
“This was an opportunity for everyone that’s frustrated with the City of Calgary about how their neighbourhoods have been changing to come and give ‘em both barrels,” Mr. Spencer said.
He voted in favour of the change, calling it a way to create a more adaptable and resilient city: “It’s an unpopular decision that gets outcomes in the long run.”
However, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith voiced concern about what she characterized federal strong-arming.
“It does concern me if municipalities feel that they have pressure from the federal government to change their policies in order to get a couple of hundred million dollars,” she told an unrelated briefing.
Councillor Dan McLean, who voted against the new zoning, argued that polling showed the majority of residents were opposed to the change.
“If you bought a home in a single-family neighbourhood … a developer could buy the neighbouring property and throw up a fourplex,” he said.
Mr. McLean suggested this will be a hot topic in the October, 2025, municipal election and dismissed as “lipstick on a bylaw” an amendment approved Tuesday evening that would give neighbours input into nearby development.
In the case of proposed row houses, semis and denser development, locals would be able to weigh in on such factors as building height, where an air-conditioning unit might be placed and what sort of landscaping there would be.
“By listening to people’s concerns, we were able to alleviate many of them by strengthening the development permit process,” Ms. Gondek said.
Such a process would not give neighbours a veto. But it appears at odds with the concept of as-of-right zoning, which is normally defined as allowing without further process buildings that meet specific criteria.