Will Calgary’s new-look council repeal blanket rezoning?

Calgary's new mayor and city council are ready to get to work, but it appears several recounts will happen this week first.

Several recounts are expected and the swearing-in of Calgary’s new mayor and council is still a week away, but those who were voted in say they’re ready to get to work.

Mayor-elect Jeromy Farkas, who will face a recount with a lead of fewer than 600 votes over Sonya Sharp, says the issue of repealing blanket rezoning will begin soon.

“We’re going to be starting the initial conversations about the mechanics of that with the incoming council,” Farkas said.

“But it’s very important to also focus on the replacement approach.”

Farkas will need the support of the majority of council to get any movement on the matter.

The group advocating for the end of upzoning polled all candidates running for election.

Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth believes the votes on the new council will be there.

“We’re cautiously optimistic. I think there’s a healthy mix of new members on council,” said Robert Lehodey.

“There seems to be sort of six or seven that are supportive of removing blanket rezoning.”

Four members of the Communities First party—Kim Tyers, Andre Chabot, Dan McLean and Rob Ward—were elected.

That party pledged to repeal rezoning, as did A Better Calgary’s Mike Jamieson, elected in Ward 12, and independent candidate Landon Johnston in Ward 14.

But other councillor-elects believe major amendments to the land use rules are a better path forward than completely repealing and starting back at square one.

“I don’t know that we necessarily have the rules around what the built-form of the rezoning looks like,” said Myke Atkinson, the councillor-elect in Ward 7.

“Getting in and fine-tuning that is critical. But repealing (blanket rezoning) is not what I stand for.”

Nathaniel Schmidt, who was elected in Ward 8, says he wants to work with his new council colleagues to address concerns about the zoning rules but adds that they still need to do the work to address the housing crisis.

“I was firm on the fact that I wasn’t a supporter of repealing. I am open to finding some amendments and some parallel policies that help us manage it better and make it more effective,” Schmidt said.

While recounts are expected, orientation for new councillors is already set to start this week.

On Wednesday evening, the returning officer’s decisions on recounts in wards 9 and 12 were released.

The request for a recount in Ward 9 was rejected, leaving Harrison Clark with the most votes according to unofficial results.

The request for a recount in Ward 12 was approved, testing the fewer than 30 votes between Jamieson and his closest competitor, Sarah Ferguson, in unofficial results.

The new mayor and council will be sworn in on Oct. 29.

With files by Damien Wood