Housing to remain one of Calgary council’s priorities in 2024: Gondek

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‘We had loads of statistics thrown at us about what number of Calgarians are in want of housing, what number of households are unhoused proper now,’ Gondek mentioned

Printed Dec 26, 2023  •  Final up to date 18 minutes in the past  •  4 minute learn

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With a housing technique now in place, Calgary’s mayor says implementing that plan will likely be one in all council’s principal priorities heading into a brand new yr.

Jyoti Gondek cited the approval of the brand new technique as one in all council’s main accomplishments in 2023, throughout a year-end interview with Postmedia this month.

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The technique comes after town’s 2023 housing wants evaluation revealed greater than 84,000 Calgary households have been struggling to afford shelter. The findings led Gondek to declare that town was formally in a “housing disaster” — a declare she reiterated in December.

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“We’re ready on this metropolis the place we’re realizing there are two very completely different populations,” Gondek mentioned. “There are of us who’re doing properly — they’ve received an excellent job, a strong earnings coming in, they’re capable of put a roof over their head and meals on the desk. After which we’ve received folks in extremely dire conditions.”

Housing costs in Calgary skyrocketed in 2023, with the common worth for a indifferent residence reaching practically $700,000 in August — a year-over-year improve of about 10 per cent, in response to the Calgary Actual Property Board. Rental costs, in the meantime, rose to $413,000 the identical month, representing a 15.7 per cent annual improve.

Amid these file costs, Calgary’s new housing technique was authorised in September, after a two-day public listening to and prolonged dialogue amongst metropolis councillors.

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“We had loads of statistics thrown at us about what number of Calgarians are in want of housing, what number of households are unhoused proper now,” Gondek mentioned. “We heard from about 200 public members who got here to current to us on the committee assembly about how troublesome it’s to seek out housing and retain housing in our metropolis.”

With greater than 70 motion gadgets, the technique intends to spice up Calgary’s market and below-market housing inventory by loosening zoning restrictions and releasing up municipally owned land for reasonably priced housing initiatives, amongst different ways.

Zoning some extent of competition

Whereas council finally voted 12-3 to approve the technique, a divisive level amongst some councillors was a provision to increase R-CG zoning citywide, making it Calgary’s default housing district.

Sometimes called “blanket” zoning, the R-CG district goals to extend density by permitting for duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes to be constructed on one parcel of land. It permits for a most of 75 items per hectare, in response to town, leading to a extra numerous mixture of housing in residential communities that at present comprise single-detached properties.

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Critics warn that R-CG will negatively have an effect on property values, alter a neighborhood’s character and result in a growth free-for-all, doubtlessly pitting neighbours towards one another.

However Gondek waves off these issues.

“It permits folks to take advantage of acceptable determination on what to do with their parcel of land, and it permits us to verify we’re capable of present housing in all communities for all wants,” she mentioned.

“Taking a look at our land use and zoning insurance policies and saying ‘every parcel may accommodate one, two, three or 4 items on that parcel’ is a really modern method of taking a look at offering housing in a way that’s market-based.”

As a result of blanket zoning depends on amending town’s land-use bylaw, the R-CG provision of the housing technique requires a public listening to. In December, council set that assembly for April 22, 2024.

Calgary to get federal funding for housing

A optimistic offshoot of approving the housing technique, Gondek mentioned, was that it additionally introduced a monetary injection from Ottawa.

In October, Calgary’s software for the federal authorities’s Housing Accelerator Fund was authorised. Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser had initially given Calgary council an ultimatum that the appliance could be rejected if they didn’t approve parts of the housing technique.

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In the end, town’s software was authorised, with Fraser saying $228 million for Calgary in November. As a part of the settlement, town will likely be required to construct practically 7,000 further housing items by 2027, and nearly 36,000 new items by 2033.

Along with growing the general variety of residences in Calgary, a key component of the housing technique is a deal with below-market housing. The town is hoping to considerably increase Calgary’s affordable-housing stock, to the tune of three,000 new builds per yr.

Gondek cited the current announcement that two plots of city-owned land close to the Whitehorn and Fish Creek-Lacombe LRT stations will likely be leased to non-profit housing suppliers to develop emergency transitional housing for as much as 240 of Calgary’s most susceptible households. The initiatives are anticipated to be accomplished inside 18 months.

“I believe it’s crucial for our metropolis to get again to a degree of steadiness and fairness, the place everybody can dwell with dignity, the place everybody has entry to meals and might dwell a top quality life,” Gondek mentioned. “We’ve received to spend money on ensuring everybody in Calgary can name this place residence in a method that issues to them.”

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