Contentious rezoning hearings get underway at Calgary city council Monday [Video]

More than 650 people have signed up to speak about proposed Calgary rezoning rules next week at what officials are calling the “largest public hearing that the city has ever held.”

Ahead of what is likely to be a meeting that stretches through all of next week, the city has also received more than 5,500 written submissions about the issue, captured on about 13,000 pages attached to the hearing’s agenda.

The city is holding the session before council will have to decide whether to amend the land-use bylaw to allow for more density housing across Calgary communities.

What’s proposed is city-wide rezoning to a Residential-Grade-Oriented (R-CG) district, which would allow for more housing options such as duplexes and rowhouses on a parcel of land. Proposed development projects would still have to go through the same development permit application process before construction is allowed to start.

Monday’s public hearing will start …