Councillors were mixed on their interpretation of a report back from City of Calgary administration on what they heard during the recent 12-day public hearing on citywide rezoning.

Planning and Development GM Tim Keane delivered the report in a continuation of the public hearing meeting after the marathon public submission portion wrapped up on Monday night.

There were 736 speakers in more than 100 hours of spoken citizen submissions, according to a city count. Also noted, there were 6,101 submissions and more than 50,000 people watched the livestream of the proceedings.  Of the speakers, 458 (61 per cent) were opposed and 227 supported the citywide rezoning. There were 51 neutral submissions.

“It’s been impressive a couple of weeks, as many have said the longest public hearing in the city’s history,” Keane told councillors.

“I don’t know how you couldn’t be impressed by the variety of opinions and heartfelt ideas and thoughts that were suggested to the city as it relates to this really difficult issue, and we took all of that to heart like you did, councillors.”

Keane’s presentation outlined 17 key areas of concern for residents, covering many of the areas that pop up during planning conversations.

Some of the concerns he addressed directly, including the difference between affordable housing and housing affordability, the lack of evidence showing a decline in property values and infrastructure concerns.  To the latter point, Keane posted a graphic showing that 86 per cent of existing Calgary communities were below peak population, meaning there was still infrastructure capacity in those areas.

“Then maybe the best news is that city council specifically has recognized the need to concentrate on established neighborhood investments in this regard,” Keane said.

Keane said it’s important to understand that change in cities is inevitable. He said everyone who spoke in the two-week hearing was advocating for a certain kind of change.

“I would argue that we’re just used to a certain kind of change. We’re comfortable with that,” he said.  

“We’re used to a certain kind of change, which has proven to be very troublesome for cities.”

Different takes on the admin approach

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she appreciated that Keane brought forward information that addressed many Calgarians’ concerns.

“I thought it was a very real presentation, and he acknowledged the fact that a lot of Calgarians have experienced a lot of change in their life as a result of what neighbours have done next door,” she said.

Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott said that it’s difficult to address fears in a 25-minute PowerPoint presentation to council. He said the work that goes into building a city of the future takes time.

“What I want to acknowledge is that Calgarians are frustrated because not only are we trying to make great change in our communities, but frankly, this city is growing and it’s no longer as affordable as it once was,” he said.  

“People are losing their opportunities to move throughout the housing market. They’re losing opportunities and housing. We couldn’t move fast enough. So, the only thing that’s ever going to make anyone feel OK is when everyone has a safe and affordable home to call home.”

Walcott said he thought the presentation showed administration listened to Calgarians, mainly because it addressed many of the questions they had. Much of what they heard during the public hearing boiled down to questions about the impact of such a change, he said.

Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot didn’t see it that way. He said that Keane’s presentation represented much of what the city had initially presented to open the public hearing.

“In fact, this is the same age-old argument that we’re getting with all of the city’s plans is that people provide submissions, they don’t have an opportunity to hear what is taken from their submissions, and then whether or not there’s any amendments made,” he said.

“As far as the public is concerned on this thing, I don’t think that they’ll feel that they’ve been heard at all.”

Chabot said that given the various concerns that have come forward from citizens, they could look at amendments, but the ideal solution is to file and abandon the plan.

Councillor will now consider the public submissions, along with the admin report before coming back on Monday with questions of administration. The City Clerk’s Office has dedicated the afternoons through next week to discuss citywide rezoning, including amendments and debate.