Calgary homeowner livid after city proposes bylaw change mid-fight

Karina Zapata · CBC News

· Posted: May 05, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

When Evgeny Zhuromsky won the close to entreaty a large infill improvement adjacent door, helium thought helium yet had a chance.

He figured the institution processing a nine-unit enactment location connected his next-door neighbour's onshore would beryllium forced to intermission until helium yet got his time successful court.

Now the rules could change.

Calgary metropolis assembly is being asked to ballot Tuesday connected a bylaw alteration that would let homebuilders to proceed with a project even if it's earlier the Alberta Court of Appeal. And Zhuromsky feels it's desperately unfair.

"Residents of Calgary … are penalized for not pursuing oregon breaking bylaws, like, for example, if you implicit parkland oregon bash not shovel your sidewalk connected time," said Zhuromsky.

"That's a treble modular due to the fact that they necessitate you and maine and each Calgarians to travel bylaws and they let themselves not to."

Zhuromsky lives successful Windsor Park, 1 batch successful from the corner. He mislaid his entreaty to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, past won the close to person his entreaty heard astatine the provincial court. But the developer has already dug a spread and started laying the foundation for the enactment location adjacent doorway aft the metropolis precocious released the permit, contempt Zhuromsky's appeal.

These developments are happening crossed the city, 1 twelvemonth aft metropolis assembly passed broad rezoning past spring. They're chiefly being built successful inner-city neighbourhoods similar Bowness, but they're starting to popular up successful established communities farther from the metropolis centre, too.

Many are being appealed to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, a quasi-judicial committee that tin revoke idiosyncratic metropolis permits. But that process tin instrumentality months, and it's adjacent longer if it's brought to court. And for developers, that means costly delays.

That could alteration if assembly approves this determination connected Tuesday. But lawyers pass that volition marque it overmuch much costly and hard for Calgarians who privation to halt a improvement that affects them.

Delays outgo up to $500 a day

The decorator of the enactment location development, Designhaus Studio, declined to remark connected behalf of its client, Best Investment Group, since the lawsuit is earlier the courts.

The Calgary Inner City Builders Association, a radical of much than 200 developers, didn't cognize astir the projected bylaw change. But seat Shameer Gaidhar has had concerns astir the outgo of appeals for a agelong time.

He said the entreaty process is important — Calgarians merit that right. But it costs an mean of $200 to $500 per time erstwhile a task sits empty, helium said.

"It costs wealth for the appellant, it costs wealth for the developer. In the end, there's a cost. That outgo gets passed connected to the extremity user. Let it beryllium the renter, fto it beryllium the buyer. Whatever it is, idiosyncratic has to wage for it. So we're eroding affordability," said Gaidhar.

Gaidhar said helium needs to larn much astir the bylaw alteration earlier commenting connected what it means for developers.

Councillors, metropolis diminution to comment

Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner, whose ward includes Windsor Park, wouldn't remark connected the concern due to the fact that it's related to Zhuromsky's entreaty earlier the courts. 

Coun. Sonya Sharp's ward is blistery with development. Her squad reached retired to metropolis medication to get clarity connected the bylaw change, nevertheless they couldn't springiness an reply — but indicated each councillors would person an update up of the nationalist hearing. So the Ward 1 councillor declined to comment.

The metropolis besides declined to remark connected the peculiar portion of the projected bylaw alteration that would let improvement permits to beryllium released, adjacent erstwhile a provincial entreaty is underway.

"The City of Calgary believes that Calgarians are an important portion of gathering a large city. Throughout the readying process Calgarians tin supply feedback and comments for consideration. More accusation connected however Calgarians tin get progressive successful the readying process tin beryllium recovered successful the Community Involvement Toolkit."

'A disastrous effect'

Randi Collins, a Calgary lawyer whose specialty includes existent estate, said arsenic the onshore usage bylaw stands today, the metropolis can't merchandise improvement permits portion a provincial entreaty is underway. But she said it's good wrong the city's close to alteration its bylaw.

If it's approved, Collins said anyone who wants to halt a improvement from going up would person to spell done different analyzable and costly process: going to tribunal and obtaining an injunction.

"It is really a disastrous effect, successful my opinion," said Collins.

"Essentially, the mean idiosyncratic is going to person small recourse without expending ample sums of wealth and navigating a precise hard ineligible strategy to bash thing astir it, which is concerning."

Collins said it speaks to a larger issue.

"Sometimes if the municipality is connected committee with a development, there's going to beryllium small that you tin bash astir it," she said.

"Municipal governments really person rather a batch of rights and a batch of power, and the tribunal strategy does hesitate to intervene unless there's a wide maltreatment of that power. So it's unfortunate for the mean person."

Running retired of time

It's been a long, hard and costly process for Zhuromsky to combat his next-door development, and helium feels similar he's moving retired of time.

The engineer, who's lived successful his location successful Windsor Park for 10 years, is inactive waiting for a tribunal day to beryllium acceptable truthful his entreaty tin beryllium heard. Until then, each helium tin bash is ticker operation proceed.

"[The developers] aren't doing thing that they're not expected to beryllium doing. It's the City of Calgary that … allowed them," said Zhuromsky.

While helium considered applying for an injunction, helium conscionable doesn't deliberation it's practical. So he's hanging connected to anticipation that he'll triumph the appeal.

"I anticipation that if I triumph and they person to reapply, they volition alteration the plan truthful the operation that they are gathering present arsenic we talk is per the municipal improvement plan, is complementary, delicate and compatible with the remainder of the community."

In the meantime, helium plans to be the nationalist proceeding connected Tuesday to inquire metropolis councillors to accidental nary to the change.