City committee agrees to put brakes on plan to manage Calgary's growth

At the beginning of the infrastructure and planning committee meeting, Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness put forward a deferral motion to postpone the city's rollout of the Calgary Plan's final draft until the second quarter of 2026.

Her motion was quickly supported when approving the agenda for the meeting, with only Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra voting in opposition.

"Right now, administration is juggling a lot of big policy documents all at once and council is trying to read through them as fast as possible," Wyness said, adding the plan didn't incorporate council's decision to approve blanket rezoning last spring.

"We have not had an opportunity to assess the impacts on housing for blanket rezoning and what works and what doesn't work ... so why not take the time to assess the market so you have a good planning policy?" The Calgary Plan is a proposed statutory planning document that will guide Calgary's land-use and transportation policies for the next three decades. Unveiled in December, the 136-page plan intends to consolidate the city's Municipal Development Plan, which was last overhauled in 2021, and the Calgary Transportation Plan.

While the city says the plan incorporated feedback from more than 6,000 Calgarians, it appeared to create a wedge among councillors. In December, the infrastructure and planning committee voted to table a staff presentation on the document until February. At that meeting, some members claimed they hadn't been able to engage their constituents on some late revisions to the plan's final draft.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek said in January that administration had expressed a desire to postpone the Calgary Plan until early 2026, based on consultation with community associations.

Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean called the plan a "political football," and criticized it for focusing on "woke" ideologies. After Wednesday's meeting, Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp, the chair of the infrastructure and planning committee, said delaying the Calgary Plan is the right choice. She added she encourages those planning to run for council next fall to familiarize themselves with the document.

"What postponement means is that the same document you see today is coming back in 2026 with some amendments," she said. "What I'd like to say is it should be more of an overhaul. I could get into the weeds on that, but ... it wasn't on the floor to be debated."

A statement on the city's website Wednesday acknowledged the committee's decision, noting the City Building Program continues to be a priority for the municipality.

"The team will proceed with engagement on how the Calgary Plan and zoning bylaw work together to enable development," it states.

"In the meantime, administration will bring forward amendments to the current Municipal Development Plan and Land Use Bylaw as necessary."

sstrasser@postmedia.com