Councillors Sharp and Wong are Pushing Exclusionary Zoning in Bowness and Montgomery

If it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, it's exclusionary zoning.

Two councillors — Sonya Sharp (Ward 1) and Terry Wong (Ward 7) — are bringing forward a notice of motion this week (November 7, 2024) to Executive Committee, which is the first step needed to bring a policy forward to council.

The motion, which is titled Infrastructure Health, Safety and Reliability in Bowness and Montgomery speaks largely about the need to better understand the quality of our infrastructure.

If you read the rationale of the motion, it sounds pretty good at first. Of course we want to have more information about our stormwater systems and infrastructure, especially after what we went through this summer. Of course it’s important to understand the costs of upgrading this infrastructure.

But then, in the very last clause, Sharp and Wong introduce exclusionary zoning. Here is that last resolution:

AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED THAT all Development Permits for new buildings containing residential dwelling units not received prior to 26 August, 2024 (the date of the second round of Stage 4 Water Restrictions) Development Permits (exempting Development Permits of 4 units and 4 suites, or less) and Land Use Redesignations in the communities of Bowness and Montgomery will no longer be accepted nor processed by the City of Calgary pending completion of the aforementioned infrastructure.

Let’s find out what exclusionary zoning is, and why this clause is so alarming.

What is Exclusionary Zoning?

Exclusionary zoning is the practice of allowing very few uses or types of housing in a given neighbourhood or community. The White House actually has a very good description:

Exclusionary zoning laws place restrictions on the types of homes that can be built in a particular neighborhood. Common examples include minimum lot size requirements, minimum square footage requirements, prohibitions on multi-family homes, and limits on the height of buildings. The origins of such laws date back to the nineteenth century, as many cities were concerned about fire hazards as well as light-and-air regulations. In the subsequent decades, some zoning laws have been used to discriminate against people of color and to maintain property prices in suburban and, more recently, urban neighborhoods.

The key here is the singling out of entire neighbourhoods for special land use treatment. In Sharp and Wong’s notice of motion, they single out Bowness and Montgomery for special treatment, and propose to stop all redevelopment of any kind larger than a rowhouse. Not only that, but they put a very indefinite timeline on the whole process (after infrastructure is upgraded), which might be on the order of decades.

Right now, the process of rezoning a parcel to allow for larger-than-rowhouse developments still requires council approval. They are done on a case-by-case basis, often with debate and conversation. It seems that Councillors Sharp and Wong are drawing on the fear and confusion of the unfortunate watermain break and repair work this summer to stifle meaningful developoment and refusing to have any nuanced conversation about housing need in these communities.

Meanwhile, the housing crisis worsens, and more and more people are facing homelessness for the first time.

So What Can We Do?

In this case, you can email your councillor or Councillors Sharp and Wong (one of whom might run for mayor) and let them know that exclusionary zoning — even by another name — is unacceptable in this city. Be sure to tell your councillor to not support this item.

There are many ways forward on housing and infrastructure, but this motion represents a definitive step backwards. Let’s not resort to old, historically racist policies of exempting entire neighbourhoods from change.