"The Housing Strategy aligns with the city's broader goal to create a more inclusive, equitable and prosperous city for all Calgarians," said City Manager David Duckworth, in a release Saturday night.
According to city administration, the housing strategy as it is currently written will come with a one-time cost of $57.5 million followed by $27 million in annual costs and $10 million in capital costs per year. This recommendation now asks to change the default zoning type to RC-G, which would allow for single family homes, but also different housing types.
Community Development Committee members debated amendments to the strategy, including everything from clarification and wording changes along with issues related to blanket rezoning and short-term rentals. “My mortgage went up over $350, my condo fees went up $275 per month and all of the other increases forced me to have to sell my home and become a renter myself,” she said.
Other speakers like Sean Tuff, who is a Calgary business owner, also experienced first-hand the difficulty of finding an affordable home while he was a university student in the city 10 years ago.“I have three kids and we had to find a place to rent," he said.