The Mar. 5, 2018, Planning and Urban Development Committee meeting included:
Urban Design Initiatives Update
In 2017, Council approved a revised Urban Design Review Framework. The framework clarifies the design review process and highlights the importance of quality built form in Calgary. At that time, Council directed that Administration identify and evaluate:
- design gaps that may exist in relation to outline plan applications and;
- redundancies that may exist among organizational bodies involved in the review process.
Council also directed that a monitoring program be implemented to identify opportunities for improvement. Administration wishes to confirm its interpretation of Council’s direction for these initiatives. The Committee recommended that Council review the proposed plan for addressing gaps, redundancies and monitoring, confirm that the plan aligns with the previous direction given and direct Administration to report back on all items no later than Q1 2019. This report will be forwarded to the March 19, 2017, Council meeting.
Administration has previous Council direction to develop laneway housing design guidelines (also called Backyard Suites). Because backyard suites fall under the definition of secondary suites, completed reports have been held over, and will be included in the secondary suite guidebook pending Council’s decision on the matter.
Fire Service Provision in Growth Strategy
In July 2017, Council directed that administration undertake an independent consultant’s review of the Calgary Fire Department’s Fire Service Level Response Time Target policy. This review was part of a larger effort to evaluate options for setting response times in new community growth areas. The Alberta Building Code legislates that emergency response time must be under 10 minutes, 90 per cent of the time. Currently, Calgary Fire adheres to Council mandated short-term emergency response performance of 7 minutes, 76 per cent of the time. Long-term performance targets aim to achieve a 7 minute response time, 90 per cent of the time. Administration recommended that Council approve, as an interim measure, a maximum fire response time of 10 minutes, 90 percent of the time, in new communities as they develop (as referenced in the Alberta Building Code). This will enable development of new areas to commence prior to it meeting the long-term performance target. The report will be forwarded to the March 19, 2018, Council meeting
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