Share this Story : Calgary Sun Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Bell: Circus in town! Calgary city hall scrambles to undo latest botched experiment

Calgary city hall. It's back to the drawing board!

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account and fewer ads.

Get exclusive access to the Calgary Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.

Get exclusive access to the Calgary Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account.

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.

Enjoy additional articles per month.

Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments

Enjoy additional articles per month

Get email updates from your favourite authors

Sign In or Create an Account

Get on the merry-go-round.

Bell: Circus in town! Calgary city hall scrambles to undo latest botched experiment Back to video

Calgary city hall made what they now believe is a mess and they are trying to clean it up.

We’re back at Calgary city hall, sometimes called the Big Blue Playpen because fun and games abound.

It is where the deep thinkers down here, and the majority of politicians on the last city council led by former mayor Jyoti Gondek, had a master plan for more housing and cheaper housing.

They had the solution to Calgary’s housing woes. They told us what they called blanket rezoning was the latest thing among the self-styled smart set. It would work like a Swiss watch.

Come on, former prime minister Justin Trudeau loved the idea so it must have been right. Insert sarcasm here.

Know before you go: How public hearing to repeal blanket rezoning will work

How did we get here? A timeline of events leading up to Calgary's blanket rezoning repeal hearing

Two years back Calgarians came down to city hall in numbers never before seen and said their piece, day after day after day after day.

Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.

There was an error, please provide a valid email address.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Calgary Sun Headline News will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.

They didn’t want rowhouses and townhouses fast-tracked in their neighbourhood of single-family homes without going through a hearing at city council.

These Calgarians rebelled, a very rare sight in a city where Calgarians usually suck up whatever nonsense city hall’s Big Blue Playpen serves up.

I mean fewer than four in 10 Calgary voters actually voted in last fall’s city election.

So, two years back, the Gondek-led council majority pushed through their plan. Taxpayers are city hall’s ATM. ATMs don’t talk back. They cough up the cash.

Then the crud hit the fan.

Let us quote Andre Chabot, the veteran member of city council. This is far from his first rodeo.

“They didn’t think it was going to have that much of a negative backlash,” says Chabot, of the last city council.

“It never stopped. It just kept building. It upset people more and more as time went on, when they saw blanket rezoning hitting the ground.”

Chabot says the last council wanted to be popular, but not with Calgarians.

The councillor says the Calgarians opposing blanket rezoning wanted to live in their community as it is and, with blanket rezoning, they saw the potential of big changes to their “peace and tranquility” and they did not like it.

Why are they steamed?

“Quality of life. That’s what they’re fighting for. Quality of life.”

Chabot figures the city hall politicians wanted to be popular across the country and show “the planning gods” at city halls throughout Canada how Calgary was leading the way in higher-density housing.

Calgary was on the cutting edge of something remarkable.

But, Chabot adds, when the politicians went out knocking on doors scrounging for votes in the recent election they got an earful. World-class outrage.

Many of the politicians who promised to punt blanket rezoning got elected to city council.

So it’s back to the drawing board.

This time it’s like watching a hockey game where you know the winner before the opening puck drops.

Blanket rezoning will be deep-sixed and life will largely go back to the way it was.

What will then follow down the line is anybody’s guess.

When your scribbler asks where the people moving to Calgary are going to live as the city continues to grow, and does not look anything like the Calgary of not so many years ago, it is clear that important question is for another day.

Right now, most on council just want the blanket rezoning to just go away.

Of course, almost never does anything go smoothly at city hall.

Why should this day be anything different?

Rookie south Calgary councillor Rob Ward says a simple question turned into a convoluted answer by city hall planners.

He says city hall misled people when asking about what Calgarians thought of blanket rezoning.

Ward says residents were trying to say whether they support or oppose blanket rezoning but the city hall form asked about supporting or opposing getting rid of blanket rezoning.

The councillor went through all the answers to see what people were trying to say, since some folks contradicted themselves in the confusion.

He found almost four out of five supported punting the rezoning.

Then there is Mayor Jeromy Farkas.

He says what is going on at city hall is “democracy at its best.”

The mayor says he wants to work more closely with communities when it comes to development but adds the city has to keep building.

Farkas tells newshounds blanket rezoning was sold as the way to make housing more affordable and build more homes.

The mayor says it didn’t happen as advertised.

But His Worship adds a cryptic comment everyone should ponder. After all, Farkas ran for mayor talking about preparing for Calgary with 2 million people.

“At the end of the day I can’t prevent change from happening.”

Share this Story : Calgary Sun Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Letters, March 23, 2026: 'Canadians increasingly unhappy' Letters

Letters, March 23, 2026: 'Canadians increasingly unhappy'

Six provincially-owned riverfront lots in Calgary coming to market Local News

Six provincially-owned riverfront lots in Calgary coming to market

Calgary man who blew up townhouse in suicide attempt won't have to serve jail time, judge rules Crime

Calgary man who blew up townhouse in suicide attempt won't have to serve jail time, judge rules

SUNshine Girl Cassie Sunshine Girls

Graphic of the week: Danielle Smith's approval rate holds steady, poll finds News

Graphic of the week: Danielle Smith's approval rate holds steady, poll finds

© Calgary Sun