Driveways

General rules

Developed area

See Developed Area Map on page 16 of the Land Use Bylaw.

A driveway accessing a street must not be constructed, altered or replaced, unless:

• It is located on a parcel that does not have lane access.
• It is located on a parcel that has lane access and 50 per cent of the same block face also have existing driveways accessing a street.
• The driveway is legal and not being relocated or widened.
• A development permit for a driveway relaxation has been approved by The City to relocate or widen a driveway.

A driveway connecting a private garage to a street must be a minimum of 6.0 m in length along the intended direction of travel and at least 3.0 m wide.​

A driveway connecting a private garage to a lane must be a minimum of 0.60 m in length along the intended direction of travel, measured from the inset of the garage door.

Driveway length is measured from the back of walk to the door of the garage, or from a curb where no public sidewalk is constructed.

See Land Use Byalw 1P2007 for complete rules.

Parcel widths and maximum driveway widths

Parcel width	Driveway width	Diagram
9.0 m or less	6.0 m
Greater than 9.0 m but equal to or less than 15.0 m	7.0 m
Greater than 15.0 m	Unrestricted

As shown in the example above, property width dictates the allowable driveway width on a residential property. Your parcel frontage is not always your actual parcel. To determine lot width on an irregular parcel, see the example below.

This irregular shaped parcel width is 13.5 meters. In this example, the maximum driveway width for this parcel is seven meters as per the bylaw.

Driveways commonly pass through utility right-of-ways, resulting in an encroachment. If there is already an existing concrete driveway passing through a utility right-of-way, a second concrete driveway (sidewalk, patio or walkway) would not be permitted. This is a common problem with corner lots, when there are multiple concrete driveways passing through a right-of-way. Landscaping, such as gravel or asphalt, is viewed differently than concrete in terms of encroachments. For more information, contact Corporate Properties through 311.

Owners of encroachments are required to enter into an agreement with The City or remove the offending structure. The City does not approve all applications for encroachment agreements.

In most land use districts, accessory residential buildings, such as a garage or shed will have a minimum building setback of 0.6 m (1.9 ft.) required from a side or rear property line. When the side or rear property line is shared with a street, the garage must be 1.2 m (3.9 ft.) from the property line. No accessory buildings may be located in the actual front setback on a low density residential property.

The building may go up to the side property line (as long as the property line is not shared with a street), as long as it meets all of the following requirements:

• The exterior is maintenance-free (examples of maintenance-free materials include: vinyl siding and stucco) or the owner of the adjacent parcel grants a private maintenance easement. (This requirement does not apply to buildings under 10 m²).
• All water drainage off of the building remains on the property.
• There is no eave overhang onto the adjacent lot.

All accessory residential buildings 10 m² (107 sq. ft.) or larger must have at least a 1.0 m (3.2 ft.) separation from the main residential building or house. When measuring to determine the minimum separation distance between a proposed accessory residential building and the main residential building, measure from the closest wall of each building (include second floor cantilevers, bay windows, etc.).

 Minimum distance from main residential building.

Zero lot lines allow you to build up to your side property line. Zero lot lines commonly exist in conjunction with maintenance access right-of-ways on the opposite side of the lot and on adjacent lots. If your proposed structure projects into a maintenance access right-of-way, the document showing allowance for this type of construction must be presented at the time of application.

Contact Click before you dig at 1-800-242-3447, to find out where your utility lines are before you build.

For information about building near or over gas lines, contact ATCO Gas at 403-292-7500.

If you have any questions regarding clearance from utility lines and boxes, contact ENMAX at 403-514-3716.

No structures are permitted to be built in a utility right-of-way.​

The zoning of your property will dictate specific rules for the design of your garage, for example, the allowable parcel coverage or how many parking stalls are required on your property.

Please visit our Land use districts / zones page in order to determine your properties zoning.

The sum of accessory residential buildings on a property must not exceed whichever is less:

• the building coverage of the main residential building (house), or
• 75 m2 (807 sq. ft.) per dwelling unit 

In addition, combined parcel coverage of all buildings cannot exceed a certain percentage of your total property size. This percentage is dictated by your specific land use district. See the graph below to determine your allowable lot coverage.

*Parcel coverage rules for R-CG change as density increases.

Note: If the aggregate area of all accessory buildings is under 10 m² (107 sq. ft.) those structures will not contribute to parcel coverage.

To calculate lot coverage, you will need to divide the footprint area of all applicable buildings by the property size.

(Total building area ÷ property area) × 100 = lot coverage per cent

Tip: You can use a Real Property Report (RPR) as your site plan. The lot dimensions will be located on the document.

Example:

1. Find the allowable coverage for the property based on your land use district.
   R-C1 = 45%
2. Calculate the property area.
   10.36 m × 32.0 m = 331.52 m²
3. Add all applicable building areas:
   

   house:	77.2 m2
   covered deck*:	9.3 m2
   shed:	10.2 m2
   proposed garage:	+ 40.8 m2
   Total building area	= 137.5 m2

4. Divide the total building area by the property area and times that by 100 to get a percentage.
   

   total building area = 137.5 m2	× 100 = 41.47%
   property area = 331.52 m2

R-C1 allows for a maximum lot coverage of 45 per cent. Therefore, the proposal comes within the allowable lot coverage.

*Covered deck is only included in the calculation because it has a roof structure. Decks that are not covered should not be included.

Number of stalls required

Most properties require one parking space per dwelling unit, unless your property falls into one of the categories below. If you are unsure of your land use district, please enter your address into the property information bar. If your land use district is not noted below, then you require one stall per dwelling.

Two stalls per dwelling are required when located in:

• R-C1N or R-1N and the parcel width is less than 9 m (29.5 ft.).
• R-C2 or R-2 and the parcel width is less than 9 m (29.5 ft.) or the parcel area is less than 270 m² (2,906 sq. ft.).

Two stalls per parcel are required when located in:

• R-2M and the parcel width is less than 9 m (29.5 ft.) or the parcel area is less than 270 m² (2,906 sq. ft.).

If your property is an irregular shape and you are unsure of your parcel width, please refer to the example below to see how to measure your parcel width and determine how many parking stalls are required.

Parking requirements can be met with a parking pad, driveway or a garage. The required parking stalls must not be located one in front of the other.

Note: many properties in Calgary were developed prior to the current bylaw and its parking requirements. There is also the potential that relaxations for parking were granted on an individual property. In these cases, the current parking requirements may not have to be met.

Stall size requirements

For the purpose of parking stall requirements, walls of a garage, fences and property lines are considered barriers.

Parking stall size requirements:

• If the parking stall abuts two barriers the stall must be at least 5.9 m x 3 m.
• If the parking stall abuts only one barrier the stall must be 5.9 m x 2.85 m.
• If the parking stall abuts no barriers the stall must be 5.9 m x 2.5 m.

All accessory residential buildings must not exceed height requirements outlined in the Land Use Bylaw. The structure must:

• Not be higher than 4.6 m (15 ft.) from the finished floor.
• Not be higher than 3.0 m (9.8 ft.) from the finished floor to the underside of the eaveline: the intersection of the wall and the roof structure at the highest point.
• Be one storey in height, but can have an attic without windows, accessed by a removable ladder, used by the occupants of the house for storage. The attic is allowed to have maximum height of 1.5 m (4.9 ft.) measured from the attic floor to the underside of any rafter.
• Not have a finished floor higher than 0.6m (1.9 ft.) above grade, unless it is a private garage. For example, a pergola on a deck that is higher than 0.6 m (1.9 ft.), would not meet bylaw.

If a detached garage is accessing an unpaved rear lane, a lane grade can be established through a Development Site Servicing site visit. This will ensure that the garage floor will be at the correct elevation in relation to the lane. The City of Calgary will assume no responsibility for water runoff into the garage, or access problems arising from construction of a garage, due to a grade that is inconsistent with the design grade approved by Development Site Servicing. There is a fee for this service.

Residential grades requirement list

Rooftop decks and balconies on accessory residential buildings would always require a development permit (planning approval) because it does not meet the Land Use Bylaw specifications.

Please review our Development Permits process page for more information on the processes for these applications.

Similarly, accessory residential buildings, other than a private garage, must not have a finished floor higher than 0.6 m (1.9 ft.) above grade. For example, a pergola on a deck that is higher than 0.6 m (1.9 ft.), would not meet bylaw​.

Semi-detached garages straddle a property line. You will usually only see these when the house is a semi-detached dwelling. However, sometimes the owners of two single detached dwellings will build a semi-detached garage that straddles their common property line.

Two building permits are always required, whether the property has been subdivided or not. If the total garage area is over 75 m² (807 sq. ft.), a development permit is required.

Accessory residential buildings under 10 m² (107 sq. ft.) in area typically do not require a building permit, however, they must comply with the rules listed under location and design.

Although a building permit is not required for a parking pad, if you plan on pouring a parking pad for the purpose of building a garage in the future you should consider the location after reviewing the previously rules of the Land Use Bylaw listed under location and design.

If your garage slab will have an area bigger than 55 m² (592 sq. ft.), and does not have a concrete foundation that is 1.2m below grade, you will need a concrete slab designed by a professional engineer. Please refer to Building Regulations Bulletin 2014-011.

When building within 0.6m (1.9 ft.) of the side property line, accessory residential buildings which are 10 m² (107 sq. ft.) or larger have the following requirements for fire-ratings and permitted locations of eave projections:

Fire rating:

5/8" Type X drywall is required to be installed from floor slab to underside of roof sheathing on the interior face of wall assemblies located within 0.6m (1.9 ft) of the side property line.

Eave projections:

Eave projections are not permitted within 0.45 m (1.5 ft.) of a side property line shared with an adjacent property (excluding rain trough). All water drainage off the building must remain on the property. A non-vented soffit (underside of eave projection) is required for eaves within 1.2 m (3.9 ft.) of a property line shared with an adjacent property.

If the eaves will project towards the lane instead, the roof trusses will likely be resting on the beam over the overhead garage door. If this is the case, you will need to provide a copy of the beam calculations or manufacturer’s truss layouts when you apply for a building permit.

The Alberta Building Code has specific distance requirements for eaves and soffits, as demonstrated in this diagram:

Temporary tent garages on residential properties do not require a building permit, however; they must comply with the rules listed under location and design.

Note: tent garages are not considered maintenance free structures, so the setback rules apply.​​

If you have questions or need clarification on the Building code information above, contact the Technical Assistance Centre.

For all other inquiries contact our Planning Services Centre.