CFTG Community Updates
HAF Funding
This is a press release and briefing prepared by Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth that clarifies federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) funding is not legally conditional on maintaining blanket upzoning. It summarizes the HAF agreement, past assurances from City leadership, and evidence that Calgary has already exceeded its housing targets—providing context for why Council can proceed with repeal based on planning merits and democratic mandate rather than funding fears.
N.O.M. Submission
This document explains the Notice of Motion to repeal blanket upzoning and outlines why public support is needed at this stage of the process. It provides clear background, key concerns, and guidance on how residents can submit comments to City Council in support of a more contextual, community-driven approach to housing growth.
Legal Opinion
This is a legal opinion that reviews the City of Calgary’s proposed process to repeal the Blanket Rezoning Bylaw and explains how a lawful, streamlined repeal can proceed under the Municipal Government Act. It clarifies why Council can move forward with restoring prior residential zoning, how public hearing and notice requirements apply, and why only approved (not pending) applications should be protected during the transition.
Year End Update 2025
We want to thank volunteers and supporters of Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth and highlight the key work in 2025, including advocacy to repeal blanket upzoning, legal action, public education during the municipal election, and efforts to clarify HAF funding. We also want to look ahead to 2026, inviting continued community involvement to support transparent, neighbourhood-focused planning in Calgary.
Letter to Council
This letter formally urges Mayor Farkas and Council to support the Notice of Motion to repeal blanket upzoning, grounding the request in both the 2024 public hearing record and the 2025 electoral mandate. It explains why supporting the motion is about restoring democratic trust and lawful, community-based planning—by initiating a fair repeal process and returning growth decisions to neighbourhood-specific, infrastructure-aware planning.
Water Infrastructure Failures
Recent failures of the Bearspaw South Feeder Main—and the findings of the City’s independent review—raise important questions about how Calgary assesses infrastructure readiness when approving increased density, particularly in established neighbourhoods with aging systems. While current capacity modelling may meet planning benchmarks, it can mask underlying fragility when redundancy is limited and assets are deteriorating. We call for a more risk-based, transparent approach to infrastructure evaluation to ensure growth proceeds safely, responsibly, and sustainably.
Our Response to Atkinson
Here is a summary of an exchange with Councillor Myke Atkinson’s office outlining why he does not currently support repealing citywide upzoning. It also sets out Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth’s response, explaining why restoring pre-blanket zoning first is seen as a necessary step to rebuild legitimacy, enable fairer growth distribution, and ensure future zoning changes are developed through community-specific planning and public hearings.
Accountability Letter
This letter argues that the repeated Bearspaw feeder main failures are not simply operational mishaps but evidence of a broader executive and governance breakdown within Calgary’s administration. Drawing on the findings of the Independent Review Panel, it contends that long-known risks were not effectively escalated, that Council was not given decision-ready information, and that the current leadership structure has failed to support meaningful oversight of critical infrastructure.