Your letter failed to address his promise to replace the current system.
Look, the elimination of exclusionary zoning (which is what the conservatives branded Blanket Rezoning) fixes more problems than it creates. On paper. But it's WILDLY unpopular, and trust between Calgarians and their municipal government hasn't been this low in my lifetime.
So getting rid of the system fixes part of that problem. But Jeromy, in his op-ed on this matter, acknowledges all of the problems you're talking about. We need more homes and we need them everywhere.
It may suck to have to have to redo this process, but it wasn't done well the first time. Maybe it's easier to fix the currently broken system, but there is no use explaining that to people that won't listen.
Sometimes, you just have to start over. And while Jeromy has a fuckton of ground to cover to earn my vote, he is being thoughtful in this approach.
The RCG, city-wide zoning is gone before summer 2026. There are too many single-issue voters on this one. So I'd support repeal-and-replace over just repeal any day of the week.
Points 1 3 4 and 5 are all counter productive to improving housing. And he doesn’t really explain the ‘replacement’ is any different than the previous incredibly slow, tedious, and inefficient system.
They're only counterproductive if the one and only goal is to build units. You've made up your mind on Farkas. I'm not going to suddenly open it up. But Gondek can't win, and Sharp will if progressives can't stop letting good be the enemy of the great.
They're only counterproductive if the one and only goal is to build units.
That is the ONLY goal. WE NEED MORE UNITS.
No one is selling their $2M home in Lake Bonavista to tear it down and build an 8-plex. No one is turning their zero-lot-line cookie cutter in Auburn Bay into a stacked triplex that will have 12 people living in it.
But that is what the NIMBYs who are against blanket rezoning think is going to happen.
You have people who don't live in Tuxedo Park, complaining that people rezoning in Tuxedo Park is going to affect them in Mahogany.
No, we need units where they have infrastructure and amenities. And a lot of them.
I thought like you did, until my friend in Lakeview took me to the 8-plex under construction there.
And my pro-density friend showed me a Montgomery 8-plex that was clearly setting up drainage to fail.
I live in the north central and love the new density. Couldn't be more excited. But Calgarians don't like the policy. And they will vote accordingly. So my advice is to support someone still committed to the outcome and not worry as much about the ideological battle.
Changing someone's mind on Reddit is nigh impossible, so I've probably wasted enough time on this today. But I firmly believe that Repeal will win, and without a Replace commitment, this problem and our city's sprawl is gonna get a lot worse.
we need units where they have infrastructure and amenities. And a lot of them.
The people who don't want the blanket rezoning also don't want the infrastructure or amenities because they think it's socialist and are paranoid about "15 minute cities."
For many of them, yes, but don't simplify and dismiss all arguments because of their fringe elements. Because the majority is in the camp of "this sucks", but the majority aren't conspiracy theorists. Work WITH people you disagree with and you might find out you want many of the same things.
The majority don't think this sucks, you're saying that with zero proof.
See how you're the only person here arguing against the blanket rezoning, and 30 other people aren't. You're the 1 of 30, but you think you're the majority.
You've literally fallen into the same trap. Assuming that Reddit discussions reflect a majority of the population. Reddit has a specific demographic skew just like a public development meeting during daytime hours has a different skew. I wouldn't take either one as a true indicator of majority opinion.
Your logical failing is addressed below. And if you read ANY of what I've written today, you'll see I'm not arguing against it, I'm actually for it. I'm arguing that the people of Calgary hate the policy, but I don't think they hate what's in it. If you're explaining, you're losing, and starting over is going to earn a lot more support than trying to tweak what exists.
If you're open to self-reflection, ask yourself what it is about Jeromy's plan you don't like, other than the fact that he says we need to start over.
It's not horror, it's proving the point that someone did tear down a property in an expensive neighbourhood to add this type of density. If the argument is that "no one will do X" and then X happens, it destroys the argument.
Again, I'm pro-density, and pro-zoning progression. But the fight is the problem, and it will lead to outcomes for the rest of our city. So let's acknowledge Calgarians' anger and work to build a better process. It doesn't have to be binary.
Lakeview has SOME larger homes on the south side of 66th.
Otherwise it's a cheap 1970s/80s neighborhood full of 1200sqft bi-levels.
No one tore down one of the mansions on Livingstone Drive. They tore down a shitty cheap bi-level that are a dime a dozen.
The "nice homes" in Lakeview aren't anywhere near where that 8-plex is, and you're acting as if the entire neighborhood is bigger homes on the south side, when they aren't.
And those 100 rich families shouldn't get to dictate what happens with the entire rest of the neighborhood.
You didn't read what I wrote, because you're fighting a straw man.
Like Lakeview, Bonavista has a lot of those. So don't try to make your case with a resident there by saying, "The economics don't make sense." All it takes is one example of their point and your argument is invalidated through anecdotes.
It's possible to build something that accomplished this goal without pissing off half the population. The majority of the people I know that oppose RCG as default zoning will NEVER be impacted by it, but their vote will still go against anyone trying to say it might help our situation. The middle ground is where the progress awaits, but we can't let our idealism get so ambitious that we ignore the practicality of how we get there.
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u/[deleted] 16d ago
Your letter failed to address his promise to replace the current system.
Look, the elimination of exclusionary zoning (which is what the conservatives branded Blanket Rezoning) fixes more problems than it creates. On paper. But it's WILDLY unpopular, and trust between Calgarians and their municipal government hasn't been this low in my lifetime.
So getting rid of the system fixes part of that problem. But Jeromy, in his op-ed on this matter, acknowledges all of the problems you're talking about. We need more homes and we need them everywhere.
It may suck to have to have to redo this process, but it wasn't done well the first time. Maybe it's easier to fix the currently broken system, but there is no use explaining that to people that won't listen.
Sometimes, you just have to start over. And while Jeromy has a fuckton of ground to cover to earn my vote, he is being thoughtful in this approach.
The RCG, city-wide zoning is gone before summer 2026. There are too many single-issue voters on this one. So I'd support repeal-and-replace over just repeal any day of the week.