Calgary homeowner livid after city proposes bylaw change mid-fight

When Evgeny Zhuromsky won the right to appeal a major infill development next door, he thought he finally had a chance.

He figured the company developing a nine-unit row house on his next-door neighbour's land would be forced to pause until he finally got his day in court.

Now the rules could change.

Calgary city council is being asked to vote Tuesday on a bylaw change that would allow homebuilders to proceed with a project even if it's before the Alberta Court of Appeal. And Zhuromsky feels it's desperately unfair.

"Residents of Calgary … are penalized for not following or breaking bylaws, like, for example, if you over park or do not shovel your sidewalk on time," said Zhuromsky.

"That's a double standard because they require you and me and all Calgarians to follow bylaws and they allow themselves not to."

Zhuromsky lives in Windsor Park, one lot in from the corner. He lost his appeal to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, then won the right to have his appeal heard at the provincial court. But the developer has already dug a hole and started laying the foundation for the row house next door after the city recently released the permit, despite Zhuromsky's appeal.

These developments are happening across the city, one year after city council passed blanket rezoning last spring. They're mainly being built in inner-city neighbourhoods like Bowness, but they're starting to pop up in established communities farther from the city centre, too.

Many are being appealed to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, a quasi-judicial board that can revoke individual city permits. But that process can take months, and it's even longer if it's brought to court. And for developers, that means costly delays.

That could change if council approves this move on Tuesday. But lawyers warn that will make it much more expensive and difficult for Calgarians who want to stop a development that affects them.

The designer of the row house development, Designhaus Studio, declined to comment on behalf of its client, Best Investment Group, since the case is before the courts.

The Calgary Inner City Builders Association, a group of more than 200 developers, didn't know about the proposed bylaw change. But chair Shameer Gaidhar has had concerns about the cost of appeals for a long time.

He said the appeal process is important — Calgarians deserve that right. But it costs an average of $200 to $500 per day when a project sits empty, he said.

"It costs money for the appellant, it costs money for the developer. In the end, there's a cost. That cost gets passed on to the end user. Let it be the renter, let it be the buyer. Whatever it is, someone has to pay for it. So we're eroding affordability," said Gaidhar.