City of Calgary Repeals Blanket Rezoning Bylaw

City of Calgary Repeals Blanket Rezoning Bylaw
News| April 16, 2026| Monte Stewart
Canada + Apartment Buildings

Ccouncil has repealed a controversial blanket rezoning bylaw approved by the previous regime.

Councillors voted 12-3 in favour of bylaw amendments that take effect August 4, Postmedia reported. The move reverses the blanket rezoning policy and returns affected properties to their former land-use designation.

Only four members of the former city council retained their seats in the October 2025 municipal election following the bylaw’s approval. Councillor Andre Chabot, one of the holdovers, introduced the motion to begin repealing the bylaw. Chabot previously told council and reporters that most Calgarians oppose blanket rezoning, which eliminated distinct zoning districts, so he sought a reversal to the former legislation.

Because the reversal required amendments to city’s land-use bylaw, the repeal received a public hearing, as the blanket rezoning bylaw did.

Previously, an Alberta Court of King’s Bench judge upheld the blanket rezoning program following opponents’ attempt to quash the bylaw that was the pulse of the rezoning program, according to multiple reports. The decision upheld the bylaw and enabled the city to reorganize zones across the city.

The rezoning bylaw allowed homeowners to rezone single-family homes into other low-density housing forms like row houses and duplexes without having to obtain approval for the revised land use.

The legal challenge followed Calgary’s longest-ever public hearing in spring 2025, which resulted in more than 5,000 written submissions and 736 people presenting their views to city council. Seventy per cent of participants opposed the blanket rezoning, citing concerns over property values, infrastructure strain, and school capacity.

Shameer Gaidhar, chair of the Calgary Inner City Builders Association, told Postmedia following the repeal that his members are not concerned about the reversal of blanket rezoning, but they are worried about what is going to replace it.

“We understand why they repealed,” he told his interviewer. “That being said, housing is a very important thing for all of us, and finding affordability in housing is really important. We’re hoping that the replacement does not take too long because if it does, the consequences of that will be detrimental.

“A lot of developers are saying the risk is too high.”

The Calgary Real Estate Board opposed the blanket rezoning program. Hong Wong, chair of CREB’s government relations committee previously said the now scrapped bylaw would drive up traffic congestion in neighbourhoods and put added strain on service quality.

Pictured: Calgary’s city hall.

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