Ward 4 Coun. DJ Kelly is pushing to accelerate Calgary's local area planning process, calling the policy documents an increasingly important tool after council's decision to repeal blanket rezoning. Kelly introduced a notice of motion Tuesday directing administration to launch three additional local area plans this year and for council to approve a budget increase of up to $400,000 to facilitate the work.
The motion passed a technical review at council's executive committee, advancing the debate to the next regular council meeting. Kelly emphasized the need to act quickly, stating that local area plans are the most effective way for Calgarians to provide input on what they want built in their neighbourhoods.
Public hearing feedback drives motion
During the recent blanket rezoning repeal public hearing, where council heard from more than 400 Calgarians, speakers frequently cited local area plans as a more suitable alternative for guiding redevelopment and accommodating density. Kelly noted that without these plans, council and the planning department lack direction on where densification is most appropriate.
“We heard loud and clear during the blanket rezoning public hearing that neighbours had major issues with the ‘blanket’ part of blanket rezoning. The only way to get around that is to actually start having conversations about specific areas where density could and should happen,” Kelly told reporters.
Current status of local area plans
The city has approved eight local area plans so far, with three more in progress in the northeast and southeast quadrants. Kelly's proposal would effectively double the number of active plans. The city's goal is to develop 20 to 25 such plans across Calgary. Kelly noted that each plan takes up to three years to complete, meaning at the current pace, achieving the city's goal would take 15 to 20 years.
Kelly described the plans as a “stand-in” for a nuanced conversation about density at the neighbourhood level, rather than a replacement for blanket rezoning. “That’s a conversation we need to be having with neighbours — it’s not something the city can blanket do, which is unfortunately what happened last time around, and what we’ve heard from neighbours that they don’t want to happen this time around,” he said.
Alignment with new municipal development plan
With a new municipal development plan, the Calgary Plan, set to roll out this year, Kelly argued that accelerating local area plans dovetails with both that statutory planning document and a revised zoning bylaw currently in development. The motion now heads to a full council meeting for debate.
