Earlier in March, Council voted against a motion to plan for and prepare a vote of the electors on City Wide rezoning to be held in conjunction with the municipal election on October 20, 2025.
The final vote was a 6-8 defeat of the motion, with Councillor Wong as one of the six voting in favour of holding the plebiscite.
His reasoning for voting in favour of the motion is as follows:
“ On January 15th 2024, City Administration announced the April 22 Public Hearing date for Citywide rezoning, giving 98 days between the announcement of the public hearing and the public hearing itself.
I do not believe that an April 22 public hearing is ample enough time for the public to be informed, engaged, consulted, and to also formulate their own opinions on a matter as significant as Citywide rezoning.
Because of the limited time period to inform the public, I hosted 3 townhalls across Ward 7 with the aim of sharing information on the proposal and having a discussion to get a better understanding on Ward 7 residents' thoughts towards citywide rezoning. Even still, I believe that we need more time to have proper discussions and engagement with Calgarians across the city. That is why I provided an amendment yesterday to change the public hearing date to June 24, 2024 - as this aligned with the Q2 2024 direction for a public hearing but gave more opportunity for people to get informed and have a productive dialogue with City Administration. This amendment was not approved by Council.
Many of those in attendance at Ward 7 Townhalls and Administration run info-sessions expressed concerns regarding citywide rezoning and the impacts on their communities. In addition to the concerns expressed around rezoning, the majority of attendees at the Ward 7 townhalls supported taking this bylaw change to a vote of Calgarians through a plebiscite rather than through their Councillors.
During my campaign I promised to listen, learn, then lead. That is why my support of the plebiscite was out of reaction from the large volume of Ward 7 constituents who expressed the need and desire for the people, not just council, to be able to vote on rezoning and its impacts to the whole City.
I would have preferred a deferral of the public hearing rather than a plebiscite, as a plebiscite is non-binding and rezoning would still have to go through a public hearing followed by a Council vote but that was not the will of Council.
Leading up to April 22nd I will continue to fulfill my promise of listening, learning, then leading. To do that to the best of my abilities, I need to hear your thoughts on the proposed changes - please remember to reach out to my office at WARD7@Calgary.ca "
We are thrilled to share that the conservation of private trees Notice of Motion brought forward by Councillors Wong & Chabot has been successfully passed by City Council. This decision stands for our commitment to address Calgary’s diverse climate needs and address the concerns expressed by our constituents about the importance of mature trees within their communities.
For context on the motion that was approved; this is not for the direct implementation of a private tree bylaw. Rather, this notice of motion is to have City administration scope and review other Canadian jurisdictions’ existing private tree conservation and/or incentive bylaws to see what works, and what would be most suitable for Calgary’s context. Then based on the information found, public consultation, and reviews of past research - prepare options for potential future private tree conservation or incentive bylaws that would be most suitable for Calgary with estimates on the implementation costs. The information gathered will be provided in Q1 2025 for Council to decide on the next steps.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to each resident who actively contributed to the discussion and provided invaluable comments about the importance of tree canopies in their communities throughout this process. Your engagement serves as a driving force behind our collective efforts to create a brighter future for all Calgarians.
As we move forward, we invite you to stay tuned for further updates on the progress of this NoM. Together, we will continue to work to build a better, more prosperous future for generations to come.
