Rezoning For Affordable Housing

One of the City of Calgary Council's decisions towards addressing the housing crisis is to blanket rezone with a new base residential district (zone), the Residential–Grade–Oriented (R-CG), to allow for a greater density and provide a variety of housing options.  I believe this rezoning is a good step towards making it easier to build more affordable homes, but it does not go far enough. Those single-dwelling properties should only be allowed to build smaller and more economical accommodations for the many who cannot afford the recent doubling of housing costs.

The larger homes they are building today cost more to build because of the excessive size and exotic luxury finishings. To reduce the cost of providing more affordable housing would require the construction of well-designed simplified smaller homes using local materials should be encouraged. Not only will these homes cost less but also be much more affordable to maintain. Empty city lots could be used for 4 tiny homes with parking for 6, or even up 7 trailable tiny houses with very little impact on the community. This new rezoning will allow for Proper Tiny House Land Use.

The way homes are built also needs to change. Alternative materials, like Hemp, and techniques need to be used to build these tiny homes. Hemp can be grown locally, within 120 days providing farmers with a hardy crop and helping the environment by capturing carbon. We can build homes from hemp, hay bails, rammed earth, and even recycled plastic, which all can be locally produced products.

For maximum usability, proper design is also required for comfortable living. For example, tiny homes could use a low-cost 12-volt electrical system since the availability of many 12-volt appliances and lighting systems that could easily and quickly be recharged with solar panels and small wind generators. Today Tiny House Living Is Practical and provides a Less Stressful Way Of Living. The Social Attitude for Housing needs to change towards building Tiny House Communities. More Local Tiny House Communities, like the Veteran’s Village, with support facilities to help those needing assistance to acquire affordable housing are needed.

The social attitude of needing large homes spread out in a wide area in a city is no longer feasible for affordable housing. High inflation brought on by corporate greed has forced many into poverty to just put a roof over their heads. The need for higher density in a large city is mandatory. How it is allowed should be regulated to provide more simplified affordable housing on existing single residential lots instead of building half-million dollar homes that many cannot afford to own or rent. Make the M.A.D. Move and Make A Difference by informing the Government that higher density is encouraged, however, not with oversized and overpriced housing. Support building Tiny House Communities.