Reid Hendry has been appointed at Calgary city hall to oversee housing, amid spikes in development following council’s decision to change the city’s base residential zoning.
Hendry, the city’s first chief housing officer, comes from a background in land development in the private sector with builders like Trico Residential, Beedie and Highfield Land Management.
He takes on the role following a year of housing development that saw work start on 20,165 units, but also comes amid unprecedented population growth.
“Our growth in balance with our building permit starts is a ratio of 3.7 people per housing start,” Henry said. “We are failing about 20,000 people in 2024 alone in delivering them adequate and appropriate housing.”
According to a briefing note to city council, 2024 was the first year Calgary surpassed 20,000 units.
That included significant growth in inner-city communities, with 921 development permit applications in established areas — an 81-per cent increase over the 508 applications in 2023.
“Rezoning is making a difference,” Hendry said.
“But on an absolute basis, it’s not solving the crisis, it’s an incremental change.”
Calgary city council voted to change the city’s base residential zoning after the longest public hearing in city history.
The new base zoning, called R-CG, allows for higher-density housing types on a single property, including row houses and duplexes.
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While redevelopment to those housing types now doesn’t require a zoning change, it still requires a development permit.
City data showed after city-wide rezoning was implemented on Aug. 6, the city received 152 development permits for rowhouses and townhouses — a 271-per cent increase over the same time period in 2023.
The briefing note also said 35 development permit applications were received after Aug 6. for front/back semi-detached homes — a 289 per cent increase over the same time in 2023.
City-wide rezoning directly enabled 46 per cent of all new low-density housing development permits applied for within the established area, the city said.
“The commitment that was made during rezoning and the housing strategy before was 1,000 additional units that we wouldn’t have otherwise seen, every year,” Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott said.
“In one quarter we hit that target… I don’t expect that to be that persistent forever in a quarter, but it speaks to the pent-up demand that we unleashed the moment we finished rezoning.”
According to city data, the majority of the development applications enabled by city-wide rezoning are in the northwest neighbourhood of Bowness, which is creating some concern for the area councillor.
“It does worry me about the amount of density going in,” Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp said.
“It worries the residents and it’s not even the infrastructure when it comes to water but it’s also our roads, it’s our in and out of the community. “
However, the decision was met with pushback, including a court challenge that was rejected by a judge last month.
According to the city, it received 2,063 public comments on applications enabled by city-wide rezoning, and 1,720 were opposed. The majority of concerns were around building design and parking.
Hendry downplayed the opposition to the zoning change, and noted it is just one of 98 recommendations included in the housing strategy.
However, the city’s new head of housing said he hopes to have conversations and build trust around how housing is delivered in Calgary.
“Fundamentally what it comes down to is fear — fear of change, fear of the world around me looking different, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Hendry said.
“I need to balance the fear and the concern and the comments that I hear from local communities with also the concerns and the fear of people who can’t be adequately housed in our city.”
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