Opinion: Blanket rezoning is the wrong fit for our city

Blanket rezoning needs to be repealed. Graduated residential zoning and site-specific public hearings on upzoning need to be re-instated. Calgary’s Planning Department needs to be reformed to improve the timelines and transparency of rezoning applications.

Growth must be achieved with Calgarians, not despite them.

Last year, council forced through citywide rezoning without real consultation, ignoring concerns about parking, infrastructure and neighbourhood character. The City’s recent move to implement blanket rezoning, a sweeping policy that changes zoning in almost every residential neighbourhood, was sold as a solution to the housing crisis. But it’s falling short on both affordability and process.

Since blanket rezoning passed, housing supply has increased but so have prices. In man