As Calgary moves closer to its two millionth resident, city councillors have been taking a hard look at the city's master plan, the blueprint meant to chart a path for the future. After going over the document, council voted to put the brakes on it for now, deferring the plan rather than advancing it.
The plan in question, known as the Calgary Plan, is described as setting the stage for how the city will grow. It serves as the baseline that helps develop new policies, which is why councillors went over it line by line, in their words with a fine-tooth comb, raising concerns on a variety of issues.
A central worry was the risk of repeating earlier missteps. One member of council said they did not want to stand on the same landmines that the previous mayor and council did, framing the review as a chance to avoid mistakes of the past as the city plots its next phase of growth.
Much of the debate centred on housing density. Plans to keep boosting density left some with a sense of deja vu, with one councillor characterising the approach as blanket rezoning that allows for a lot more density in established neighbourhoods, and stating bluntly that they wanted to kill that part of the plan.
Councillors also questioned how the city engages with different groups. On consultation with Indigenous people, one pointed out that in nearly every instance the document used the word may rather than a firmer commitment, noting there was not a single should except under the heading of arts and culture.
The plan has already been the subject of extensive public input. Nearly 50,000 Calgarians were consulted over a three-year period, and City Hall had been set to carry out a sixth and final round of engagement before the document was to move forward.
Instead, council voted in favour of deferring the plan, with one councillor remarking that in the last six days of discussion they had held deeper conversations with colleagues than in the previous six months. Calgarians will still have an opportunity to weigh in, as a public hearing is to be held at a later date before the plan is brought into effect.