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Calgary Approvals Coordination

Calgary Approvals Coordination

​Calgary Approvals Coordination (CAC) oversees the approval process and successful delivery of land development, from land-use re-designation to occupancy. CAC supports and coordinates staff from across the corporation while working closely with interested parties to ensure Calgary is the best place to invest and build by facilitating an approvals process that offers high quality, consistent and timely decisions, proactively.​

The City wants to help our customers realize development and improve Calgary’s economic stability by creating a new kind of relationship in order to better understand challenges and recognize the impact City decisions have on projects.​

About Calgary Approvals Coordination

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Calgary Approvals Coordination is a division of Development & Building Approvals and functions as a review and coordinating entity on behalf of several City of Calgary business units:

Calgary Approvals Coordination is comprised of four sections:

  • Subdivision Development
  • Engineering Development
  • Infrastructure Development
  • Development Servicing

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Calgary Approvals Coordination's role

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One of The City's primary goals is to ensure development occurs safely and in accordance with engineering standards. As one of the four partner divisions that make up the Corporate Planning Applications Group (CPAG), Calgary Approvals Coordination coordinates feedback from engineers and other technical specialists about:

  • Land use amendments
  • Outline plans
  • Subdivisions
  • Development permits
  • Development liaison files
  • Airport development files

Calgary Approvals Coordination leads in the circulation and review of subdivision construction drawings, development site servicing plans (DSSPs) and grade slips. It is also involved with reviewing policy plans, subdivision legal plans and special circulations for ministerial consent on behalf of the Province of Alberta within Calgary’s Stoney Trail Ring Road, which is a Transportation Utility Corridor (TUC).

Another primary role of Calgary Approvals Coordination is to act as the steward of the standard development agreement, which defines the legally-binding rules agreed upon between The City and the developer regarding construction, maintenance and creation of public infrastructure This includes all Council approved acreage assessments and fees.

The standard development agreement is comprised of three agreements:

  • The Interim Indemnification Agreement (IIA)
  • The Master Development Agreement (MDA)
  • The Special Clauses Agreement (SCA)

This role involves working closely with both industry and City business units to negotiate the terms of the annual Master Development Agreement. It also involves preparing and administering a Special Clause Agreement for each proposed subdivision/ development.

​​​​​​​​The last role of Calgary Approvals Coordination is to effectively coordinate infrastructure investment in collaboration with other City business units. This work involves consultation in regard to timing and scope of infrastructure investment for both greenfield communities and redevelopment areas.​​​​​​​​​​​

Approvals Continuum