City council approves new zoning to make housing for 'missing middle' easier to build

After a lengthy public hearing, Calgary's city council approved the creation of new zoning on Wednesday that will make it easier for more affordable types of housing to be built in some areas of the city.

Property owners will now be able to apply to build what's known as "missing middle developments" — such as row houses, town homes or other at grade apartments — in more parts of the city, so long as they are close to public transit.

"Markets are demanding different things, and we have to decide, are we going to prioritize housing and are we going to prioritize our investments into multi-modal," said Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner.

"Are we going to prioritize … investing into our established areas, and giving that certainty to different communities?"

She said she's looking forward to how property owners and developers take up this new zoning.

Council hears debate

Over two days, Calgarians on either side of the "missing middle" debate spoke to council.

Some said it will hurt their communities, which are mostly single family houses, while others criticized the lack of public consultation by the city.

"I'm frustrated and annoyed and I have a question to ask council," said Flora Gilliespie, who spoke at the two-day public hearing. 

"Why is engagement happening on the floor, at the public hearing? I just don't understand this. This should have been happening before."

Supporters of the bylaw said this change could boost populations in communities that have been declining for decades and help save community amenities.

"We know that Calgary's growing, and the proliferation of single family zoning puts pressure on our city to develop on its outskirts which we know is unsustainable economically, environmentally, from the perspective of the climate and from the perspective of being able to deliver consistent services across the city," said Sunalta resident Robert Tremblay.  

Applications, hearings still necessary

After the marathon public hearing, council voted 9-6 in favour of the motion. 

Several councillors said although the public hearing was long, it was worthwhile hearing from Calgarians who are concerned about the issue.

"A lot of people do support more density in transit, close to transit, close to high traffic areas, other concerns are about tree canopy or established neighbourhoods having density, more density in their established neighbourhoods," said Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean.  

"You can see both sides of the argument, so that's what we're here for, to listen to them."

He ultimately voted against the proposal.

Although council approved creating the new land use, property owners still have to apply to the city for a land use change on a specific piece of land. That ultimately requires council approval, a process that includes a public hearing.