Calgary rezoning repeal marks end of contentious housing policy battle
The blanket rezoning approved in 2024 to boost housing density was repealed in spring 2026 after months of heated public opposition from residents.
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Calgary's ambitious blanket rezoning policy is gone. The citywide zoning change that cleared the way for higher housing density across residential neighbourhoods was approved in 2024 only to be repealed in spring 2026 after months of fierce public opposition.
The policy, which switched the default residential zoning to R-CG and allowed secondary and basement suites on lots where only single-family homes were previously permitted, sparked hundreds of residents to voice concerns about traffic, parking, and garbage bin clutter in back alleys. Despite support from low-income Calgarians and renters eager to cut red tape on housing development, the opposition proved too strong.
The city held two public hearings at City Hall — one to implement the rezoning, another to scrap it. Hundreds spoke at each. While those who testified agreed Calgary is growing and housing is needed, they sharply disagreed on how to get homes built.
Former Ward 8 councillor Courtney Walcott, a strong blanket rezoning supporter, framed the urgency: "Three years, 300,000 people. And we were supposed to figure out a way to do all that with the same policies on the ground that we had in the 1950s? It was never gonna happen."
The repeal came after change at city hall in October 2025, when a new mayor promised to "repeal and replace" the bylaw and a majority of councillors pledged to scrap it. In early 2026, council voted 12-3 to repeal.
