Calgary Real Estate Board concerned with city-wide rezoning plan
One part of the City of Calgary’s proposed solution to the ongoing housing crisis has been seeing some criticism from a major player in the real estate market.
The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) is saying that a proposed plan for city-wide rezoning won’t solve any problems.
The city-wide base rezoning proposal is part of a broader plan to increase housing supply in Calgary, specifically targeting the so-called missing middle gap. It intends to work toward solving the housing problems that have been prevalent in this city.
“Missing middle” typically refers to buildings like midrise apartments, duplexes, and row houses that increase housing density.
CREB said it believes the plan has the potential to adversely impact Calgary’s housing landscape and property values.
“Blanket rezoning is not the right solution to address Calgary’s housing challenges,” said Hong Wang, chair of CREB’s Government Relations Standing Committee.
“It poses a significant risk to communities, driving up the level of congestion in neighbourhoods and putting added strain on infrastructure and service quality.”
“We oppose this approach and advocate for a more community-focused strategy to respond to Calgary’s housing shortage,” he added. “It also helps us provide the lowest market-rent rental apartments as well, as part of this proposal.”
In a statement, CREB said it acknowledges the need to address housing affordability, adding that it’s something the organization is invested in.
This proposed city-wide rezoning plan, however, is not the way to go about it, according to CREB.
“The blanket rezoning will not address the problems associated with a lack of affordable rental product,” Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist, said in a statement.
She added that the current problems would require a “large-scale approach” with a focus on communities with under-utilized city land that have access to transit and community amenities.
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