Will rezoning Calgary make it a "build wherever you want" city?

Albert Pego/Shutterstock

After approving a major housing strategy in September 2023, the next step for reshaping housing in Calgary is set to begin later this year.

On April 22, a public hearing debate at Calgary City Hall will begin, and everyone will have an opportunity to voice their comments and concerns about how the City of Calgary and its administration plan to rezone the city to a base residential district, or zone the R-CG District.

That zoning change, according to the City, will help increase the supply of housing, which will eventually decrease the cost of housing in Calgary and effectively make it a more affordable place to live.

“In May of this year, when we first received the housing and affordability task force recommendations and it included the indication that we could improve our zoning bylaws to allow for one to two, three or four units per parcel instead of just one,” Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek told Daily Hive Urbanized.

“That was when we as a council and public had an indication of where this might go.”

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It’s a long-term plan, and rezoning won’t necessarily change the look and feel of neighbourhoods overnight.

The change, however, will be noticeable within a decade and will be a benefit for the next generation, according to the City.

But how’s it all going to work, and what does rezoning even mean?

R-CG…?

The R-CG District is the Residential-Contextual Grade-Oriented Infill District that includes both existing housing developments and allows the construction of single-housing, detached homes, semi-detached homes, rowhouses and townhouses.

Rezoning essentially means that City administration will propose changing the zoning to R-CG on properties in all communities in Calgary that are currently zoned for only single-detached and semi-detached homes.

Those are typically R-C1 (primarily for single detached homes) or R-C2 (primarily for primarily for single detached, side-by-side and duplex homes).

In new communities, this means properties currently zoned as R-1 and R-2 will be proposed to change to R-G.

Calgary suburban sprawl homes neighbourhood real estate

Calgary’s suburban sprawl. (Shutterstock)

So, can you build anything you want, whenever you want if the city is rezoned? Not exactly.

Landowners will still need to apply for development or redevelopment and building permits to ensure the proposed new home or homes are still compatible with the surrounding community.

Property owners will also be prevented from replacing existing homes with new, single-detached homes. It also does not mean that existing single-detached homes will be removed.

Why does this matter?

According to the City, rezoning effectively means that housing affordability will be improved for everyone across Calgary by increasing the supply of housing while reducing the costs and timelines of permit approvals.

Rowhouses, for example, could give Calgarians a type of home that is in high demand at lower price points, compared to single and semi-detached houses in the same community.

It improves relative affordability compared to if they are not widely available, according to the City.

Citywide base zoning will also allow new community builders to respond to housing demand more organically, without the need to rezone land parcels when consumer preferences change.

“With the date of April 22 set, Administration is going to be able to put out the messaging, have the open houses, send the letters to all impacted households to do all of the work that needs to be done to inform the public,” Gondek said.

“I do hope that people feel seen and heard through that process.”

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