Council receiving rezoning recap ahead of final vote

Calgary rezoning plan recapped at council City council will be reviewing all the submissions about its controversial rezoning bylaw on Thursday. Mason DePatie reports.

After the city's largest public hearing ever wrapped up Monday, rezoning will be the focus once again at city hall as councillors receive a recap presentation summarizing what everyone said.

Over the 12 days of the hearing, council heard from more than 700 people — that's on top of the roughly 6,000 written submissions.

City administration has compiled all the feedback into a 'what we heard' presentation that will be presented Thursday morning.

This will be the last time the issue is before council before they make amendments and hold the final vote Monday.

At issue is whether the city should switch its base zoning designation to RC-G, which allows for denser housing like rowhomes and duplexes.

People against the change worry about how it will affect the character of neighbourhoods. Concerns about parking and appeals were also raised during the hearing.

Those for the blanket rezoning believe it will make it easier to build a diverse range of homes, increasing housing options amid the shortage the city is facing.

Tight housing market

CIR Realty held an open house for a home in Calgary's Dalhousie area over the weekend.

Realtor Kim Twohey, who had the listing, said there was a line up of 50 people wanting to see the home.

There ended up being 11 offers, nine of them all cash. The house ultimately sold for $136,000 over its $700,000 list price, setting a new price point for the community.

"Buyer demand and low inventory combined with the narrative around blanket rezoning is putting the real estate market as a whole into a frenzy right now," said Twohey.

Twohey said so far this year, every single listing she has had has received multiple offers.