Increase tax productivity in Calgary’s “donut of decline”

Calgary’s Ward 13 neighbourhoods have among the lowest proportion of multi-unit housing in the city and below average per-capita in residential property tax revenue. (Image source: Googe Maps)

Inner-city neighbourhoods in Wards 7 and 8 contribute the most residential property taxes per capita in the city

Neighbourhoods in Ward 7 and Ward 8 contribute the highest residential property taxes per capita in the city - more than double the lowest contributing wards. While there are numerous factors driving this including higher land values in the inner city, much of this can be attributed to the greater presence of higher density housing in Ward 7 and 8 neighbourhoods.

Residential property tax revenue per-capita broken down by ward. (Source: City of Calgary 2024 open data, City of Calgary Ward profiles)

Calgary’s “donut of decline” neighbourhoods are costing all Calgarians

Older suburbs in Calgary that are around 30 to 50 years old are often referred to as the “donut of decline”, a ring of communities outside the inner city that have seen their population drop as much as 45% since their peak.

Map of Calgary residential property tax revenue per capita by ward highlights the “donut of decline,” neighbourhoods that are generating some of the lowest residential tax revenue per capita in the city (Source: City of Calgary 2024 open data, City of Calgary Ward profiles).

The problem with these aging neighbourhoods is that while their roads, pipes and infrastructure are approaching the time for lifecycle replacement, they aren’t actually generating enough local property taxes to cover the full cost of repairs. The bill then gets covered by higher contributing neighbourhoods like right here in Ward 7. Ultimately this means that less of our property taxes are being reinvested locally in community infrastructure and amenities, leading to results like closing inner city pools and recreation facilities.

“Donut of decline” neighbourhoods have some of the highest share of single-detached housing in the city

What’s remarkable about these 30-50 year old neighbourhoods is the predominance of single-detached housing. While 75% of housing in Ward 7 is multi-unit, neighbourhoods in Wards 2, 3, 13 and 14 are 72%-76% single-detached, stand-alone houses.

Wards 7 and 8 neighbourhoods have predominantly more multi-unit housing than other wards spanning Calgary’s “donut of decline” (Source: City of Calgary 2024 open data, City of Calgary Ward profiles).

Citywide rezoning is an opportunity to boost the residential property tax productivity in neighbourhoods outside Ward 7

(Image source: Globe and Mail)

Calgary’s citywide legalization of townhomes and duplexes in 2024, otherwise known as “rezoning for housing”, creates an opportunity to increase the tax productivity of the “donut of decline” communities within these wards.

This not only benefits residents looking for more housing options and increased housing supply in these neighbourhoods previously exclusively zoned for single-detached houses, but it also benefits Calgarians in the inner city neighbourhoods of Ward 7 who would otherwise be stuck footing the bill for infrastructure repairs in the wards that don’t generate enough property taxes to cover their own bills today.

Repealing citywide rezoning would cost Ward 7 residents

Ward 7 councillor Terry Wong’s record on housing has exacerbated development pressure on Ward 7 neighbourhoods and diverted the city funds needed for new amenities in Ward 7 towards the suburbs of the city. In May 2024, Wong voted along his municipal political party lines against legalizing row homes and duplexes citywide. Now his Communities First municipal political party has pledged to repeal rezoning, if re-elected. But this would cost Ward 7 residents who would only see more of their residential property taxes leave the inner city. 

That’s why I am running to work for Ward 7 to ensure that citywide rezoning ultimately helps keep more of our property taxes reinvested in our neighbourhoods and helps to make Calgary more sustainable as we move forward.