Calgary concludes longest-ever public hearing on citywide rezoning
Posted May 7, 2024 7:59 am.
After more than two weeks, the largest-ever public hearing in Calgary’s history has finished.
Just after 9:15 p.m. Monday night, Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek closed the hearing on proposed citywide rezoning, but not before hearing from 736 speakers and 238 panels.
City council also received 6,101 written statements which are now part of the public record.
“We’ve got to owe it to Calgarians, and we deserve to have us at our best making this important decision,” Coun. Sonya Sharp said.
Despite the public portion of the hearing, which started on April 22, being over, there are still steps that need to be taken before council can make a decision.
The city says administration will give council a recap of the weeks-long public hearing on Thursday morning.
Matters on this issue will continue following a special hearing meeting of council on Monday, May 13, where councillors will have the chance to ask questions of administration.
Coun. Andre Chabot says he’s looking forward to the extra time to formulate his thoughts and questions.
“I don’t know about you guys and how many questions you’ve written down over the last number of days — I’ve written lots of notes about submissions from the public, about thoughts and concerns that they’ve had,” he said.
On Monday, a main motion will be introduced, and amendments can be introduced, debated, and voted on by members of council at that time.
The meeting will ultimately see a vote on the proposed motion and any amendments.
Calgarians are no longer allowed to submit to speak before council, but are still able to provide written submissions for the public record at calgary.ca/publicsubmissions
-With files from Tiffany Goodwein and Phil Wood
