Calgary council votes 12–3 to repeal blanket rezoning

After a public hearing that began on March 23, Calgary City Council voted 12–3 on April 8, 2026 to repeal citywide residential rezoning, the 2024 policy that allowed more multi-unit housing on lots once zoned only for single-family homes. Councillors Myke Atkinson, Nathaniel Schmidt and Andrew Yule voted against, CBC News reported.

The hearing in numbers

According to the City, 554 people registered to speak, 411 addressed Council and 3,293 written submissions were received.

What the decision does

• Brings back the earlier low-density districts in Land Use Bylaw 1P2007, such as R-C1 and R-C2.
• Returns residential properties to the zoning they had before August 6, 2024. The City says 99% of properties will go back to their earlier zoning.
• Exempts lots that received approval under R-CG, R-G or H-GO before the bylaw takes effect, lots with an application submitted before first reading, and lots rezoned at the owner’s request after August 6, 2024.
• Changes R-CG rules for future projects: maximum height drops from 11 m to 10 m, lot coverage from 60% to 55%, and zero-lot-line developments are no longer allowed.

The changes take effect on August 4, 2026. Applications received before then are processed under the current rules.

Federal funding question

CBC reported that CMHC had warned the repeal could conflict with Calgary’s Housing Accelerator Fund agreement, worth $251 million in instalments. “If commitments are not met or are reversed, HAF funding is at risk,” a CMHC spokesperson said.

Our take: if you own a lot and were considering a rowhouse or suite project, timing matters. Applications submitted before August 4 are reviewed under today’s rules.

A hearing that ran for days

Public hearing on the repeal: interest grew as the hearing went on

By March 20Final

By the morning of March 20, before the hearing began, the City Clerk’s Office had 339 speaker requests and 2,390 written submissions, totalling 6,804 pages in the agenda. By the end, 554 people had registered to speak and 3,293 submissions had been distributed to Council. Each speaker had up to five minutes. CBC described eight days of public hearings before the vote.

What councillors said

Mayor Jeromy Farkas supported the repeal as a way of “restoring trust.” He told CBC: “Many Calgarians felt with the previous decision to adopt blanket rezoning that it had created uncertainty and it really broke trust in the planning process.” He also said he is not satisfied with a repeal alone and wants a replacement policy that can better manage growth and density.

Councillor Myke Atkinson, who voted against, argued that residents of higher-density neighbourhoods were being asked to shoulder the city’s tax burden. “What are we here to do? Are we here to preserve or to steward a way to the future?” he asked.

We will follow the City’s updates at calgary.ca/rezoning, including how additional amendments will be implemented, and any decision on the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.