Smart Growth, Strong Neighbourhoods
Calgary is in a housing crisis, experiencing decreasing affordability and a lack of housing options across the city
The City of Calgary’s 2023 Housing Needs Assessment was a wake up call on the housing crisis faced by the city. It found that nearly 1 in 5 Calgary households could not afford their housing, where between 2020 and 2023 the average rent jumped 40% and the average price of a single detached home jumped 37%.
Meanwhile, the current 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.
Ward 7 neighbourhoods have been experiencing intense pressure from housing redevelopment
Over the past decade, outdated zoning rules concentrated the vast majority of redevelopment into established areas within inner-city neighbourhoods like those in Ward 7. This intense redevelopment pressure and population growth was not accompanied by corresponding investment in infrastructure and amenities.
Residents have also been frustrated by infill developments that appear oblivious to their local neighbourhood context, are of poor build quality, needlessly reduce the neighbourhood tree canopy, and employ construction practices that negatively impact neighbourhood safety and quality of life.
Repealing citywide rezoning would hurt Ward 7 neighbourhoods
As someone who has lived in Ward 7 for over 20 years, I’ve seen how inner-city neighbourhoods have carried the brunt of redevelopment for more than a decade, long before citywide or “blanket” rezoning was introduced.
While it’s an easy and emotional play, the promises to repeal citywide rezoning won’t stop redevelopment; it will just revert and push it back into the same inner-city areas that have already absorbed most of the densification over the past decade. Citywide rezoning helps share that change more fairly across the city with suburban neighbourhoods that don’t generate enough tax revenue to cover their own upkeep.
Repealing would also artificially drive up the cost of housing, perpetuate Calgary’s lack of housing mix, and divert more of Ward 7 property taxes to less tax productive wards.
Growth is welcome when redevelopment is done right
While I don’t support repealing citywide rezoning, I believe we need to do a better job of implementing the policies surrounding redevelopment to ensure the results both tackle the housing affordability crisis and enhance our Ward 7 neighbourhoods.
This starts with addressing gaps in the City’s 2024 Rezoning for Housing policy. We need to take what we’ve learned from past redevelopments and do better going forward.
This also means making sure that the rules that govern citywide rezoning are applied equally across the entire city so we all share in tackling the housing issue.
Housing priorities
✅ Strengthen redevelopment standards so that new developments are more in line with existing neighbourhood context, with stronger enforcement of Heritage Protection Guidelines
✅ Ensure that necessary investments in community infrastructure like better transit, protected cycle tracks, parks and recreation facilities lead redevelopment instead of lagging it
✅ Enable developers to adapt their designs to preserve mature trees and enforce tree-planting requirements on new projects
✅ Reduce barriers for mixed-use developments that combine residential, commercial, and recreational spaces to provide the benefits of local services like daycares, coffee shops, and grocery stores into neighbourhoods
✅ Enforce construction practices that reduce disruption and do not negatively impact public safety
✅ Explore vacant lot and unoccupied property taxes to disincentivize housing as a vehicle for speculative investment
✅ Implement a landlord licensing program to improve rental housing standards and ensure safety through inspections
✅ Support a wider mix of housing options in our community including non-market housing like co-ops and community land trusts to help stabilize housing affordability