Council decision

After listening to Calgarians in the largest public hearing in Calgary's history, City Council voted to approve citywide rezoning with amendments. We are currently determining how these actions and amendments will be implemented in the coming months. 

Rezoning for Housing Council Decision Summary

Refer to the Council meeting minutes for information on the approved recommendations, amendments and notices of motions. A summary has been provided below.

Approved Recommendations 

  • Rezone to R-CG as base district in established area
  • Rezone to R-G as base district in developing area 
  • Rezone to H-GO in approved LAPs 
  • Make Rowhouse a discretionary use in R-CG 
  • Make Contextual Single-Detached dwelling a permitted use in R-CG

Council sessions

April 22, 2024, Item 7.1:

Calgary’s Housing Strategy 2024-2030 - Land Use Amendment Citywide, LOC2024-0017, and Land Use Bylaw Amendments, CPC2024-0213

June 11, 2024, Item 7.8:

Response to Motion Arising from Rezoning for Housing - Resources and Workplan Implications, EC2024-0692

Amendments

Download PDF or read below the details of each amendment

1. Applicant Outreach Toolkit; Rowhouse How-to Guide; Expedited Application Timeline; and Planning Liaison Program

In order to create a more robust public engagement process for discretionary uses in the R-CG land use district, direct Administration to:

a. Review and enhance The City of Calgary Applicant Outreach Toolkit in collaboration with interested community associations, residents and industry to improve transparency in community outreach and engagement for development permit applications in R-CG districts, using this process to either create an incentive or requirement for community engagement prior to a formal application submission, with an update to Council by end of 2024 Q3; 

b. Create a Rowhouse How-to Guide with input from interested community associations, residents and industry that identifies contextually appropriate design strategies (including but not limited to building height, placement and treatment of windows, air conditioners, waste & recycling bins and landscaping), with an update to Council by end of 2024 Q4; 

c. Explore incentives for an expedited application timeline for those applications that demonstrate strong collaboration with community and compliance with process (as per the Outreach Tool and Rowhouse How-to Guide), with an update to Council by end of 2024 Q4; and 

d. Determine the necessary resources and any associated funding required to fully implement and sustain a Community Planning Planner Liaison program as previously discussed with some innercity communities and report back to Council no later than the end of 2024 Q3 for any resource and budget requests.

2. Enhance Development Permit Processes & Timelines for Rowhouses and Townhouses

Direct Administration to utilize or leverage an existing community and industry working group to mutually seek efficiencies in the development permit process to expedite development permit timelines, while making townhouse and rowhouse development permits more consistent and standardized in RCG areas to create transparency and predictability for applicants and the public. 

3. Updating Local Area Plan Sequencing

Direct Administration to sequence the completion of Local Area Plans in the developed areas of the city by: 

a. Identifying the areas with the most demand based on the number of applications; and 

b. Prioritizing these areas in the sequencing of future Local Area Plans.

4. Addressing Issues Related to Privacy

Direct Administration to consider changes to the Land Use Bylaw, including provisions related to the current R-G, R-CG and H-GO districts, to address issues related to privacy for adjacent neighbours identified through this report as part of its reporting to Council on the City Building Program.

5. Re-engaging on Updates to Approved Local Area Plans

Direct Administration to review all plans already completed as part of the current Local Area Planning program, and engage with affected communities, to determine whether any amendments to the Local Area Plans are warranted as a result of the proposed rezoning, and report back to Infrastructure and Planning Committee with an interim update no later than 2025 Q1.

6. Infrastructure and Planning Committee Quarterly Briefing

Direct Administration to prepare a quarterly briefing on the implementation of the Rezoning for Housing initiative to Infrastructure and Planning Committee beginning 2025 Q1 including: 

a. The effect of Rezoning for Housing on housing supply, including the number of permits issued for new low-density residential units in R-G/R-CG and H-GO districts; 

b. Timelines for permit approvals; and

c. A summary of public letters received on development permits enabled by Rezoning for Housing including the overall number in support or opposition and recurring themes of concerns raised. 

7. Community Development Committee Annual Report

Direct Administration to report back annually to Community Development Committee starting no later than 2026 Q2 with a report on the Rezoning for Housing Initiative that includes: 

a. Impacts of the Rezoning for Housing program at increasing housing supply; 

b. Impacts of the Rezoning for Housing program at speeding up permit approval timelines;

c.  Community and industry feedback that Administration has received related to Rezoning for Housing; and 

d. Recommendations to address issues in the Land Use Bylaw, Local Area Planning program, and permit approvals that have arisen from Rezoning for Housing.

8. Exempting Rowhouses and Townhouses from Development Permit Requirements in Greenfield Communities

Direct Administration, in alignment with Home is Here recommendation 4.B.2, speed up approval processes as appropriate, in order to continue to support the construction of more housing, to bring forward amendments to Land Use Bylaw 1P2007 that exempts free hold/fee simple townhouse and rowhouse developments, that meet the requirements of land use bylaw 1P2007, within newly developing greenfield communities from the need to obtain a development permit and report back to Council by end of 2024 Q3. 

9. Evaluating Appropriate Zoning for All City-owned Parks

Direct Administration to review all City-owned parks and evaluate the appropriate district and include a recommendation to rezone with the implementation of the new Zoning Bylaw.

10. Reinstating the Civic Census Program

Direct Administration to research and return to Council before the 2025 Mid-Cycle Budget program with recommendations (including budget and organizational accountability) to resurrect the municipal census program with the intention of conducting

11. Enhancing Development Permit Public Notification Systems

Direct Administration to investigate and report back on options to improve the public notification systems and information provided to users through the City’s planning and development information systems (i.e., DMAP, Calgary.ca, etc.), and report back by 2025 Q4.

12. Including Secondary Suites and Backyard Suites in Density Calculations

a. Include Secondary Suites and Backyard Suites in density calculations in the new Zoning Bylaw, and that minimum density requirements be updated in zones where suites are allowed to reflect this change; and 

b. Report back to Council in Q1, 2025 with a scoping report that includes:

i. the overall unit count/density calculation for each community that includes secondary suites and backyard suites as units. 

ii. a list of all departments that have calculations based off unit count and the implications of unit counting for all other City departments (fee for service, fee calculations).

13. Backyard Suite Restrictions for Rowhouses and Townhouses

Delete and replace subsection 153.1(a)(vi) with the following: “Must not be located on the same parcel or bare land unit as either a Rowhouse Building or a Townhouse use. 

14. R-CG Parking Requirement of 1.0 stalls or 0.5 stalls

That Council delete Section 1 (o) of Bylaw 21P2024 (Attachment 3) and replace it with the following:

1.  Delete subsection 546 and replace with: “546 (1) The minimum number of motor vehicle parking stalls is calculated based on the sum of all units and suites at a rate of 1.0 stalls per unit or suite

2.  Notwithstanding subsection (1), the minimum number of motor vehicle parking stalls is calculated based on the sum of all units and suites at a rate of 0.5 stalls per unit or suite for the area listed in Table 2.1. [Table 2.1 simplified: 0.5 stalls in 1960s and older communities]

Table 2.1 - Communities with 0.5 Parking Stalls
Acadia Downtown West End Lincoln Park Rosemont
Albert Park/Radisson Heights Eagle Ridge Lower Mount Royal Rosscarrock
Altadore Eau Claire Manchester Roxboro
Banff Trail Elbow Park Maple Ridge Rutland Park
Bankview Elboya Marlborough Scarboro
Bayview Erlton Mayfair Shaganappi
Bel-aire Fairview Maryland Heights South Calgary
Beltline Forest Heights Meadowlark Park Southview
Bonavista Downs Forest Lawn Mission Southwood
Bowness Garrison Green Montgomery Spruce Cliff
Braeside Garrison Woods Mount Pleasant St. Andrews Heights
Brentwood Glamorgan North Glenmore Park Sunalta
Bridgeland/Riverside Glenbrook North Haven Sunalta West
Britannia Glendale North Haven Upper Sunnyside
Cambrian Heights Greenview Oakridge Thorncliffe
Canyon Meadows Haysboro Ogden Tuxedo Park
Capitol Hill Highland Park Palliser University District
Charleswood Highwood Parkdale University Heights
Chinatown Hillhurst Parkhill Upper Mount Royal
Chinook Park Hounsfield Heights/Briar Hill Point McKay Varsity
Cliff Bungalow Huntington Hills Pump Hill Vista Heights
Collingwood Inglewood Queens Park Village West Hillhurst
Crescent Heights Kelvin Grove Ramsay Westgate
Dalhousie Kingsland Richmond Willow Park
Downtown Commercial Core Lake Bonavista Rideau Park Windsor Park
Downtown East Village Lakeview Rosedale Winston Heights/Mountview

15. Parking Requirements in proximity to LRT and BRT

That with respect to proposed Bylaw 21P2024, the amendment be further amended as follows:

That a new subsection 3 be inserted to the text for Section 546 of Land Use Bylaw 1P2007, as amended, that is proposed in Section 1(o) of proposed Bylaw 21P2024, as follows:

“3. Notwithstanding subsection (1), and (2) the minimum number of motor vehicle parking stalls is calculated based on the sum of all units and suites at a rate of 0.5 stalls per unit or suite for development within 600.0 metres of an existing LRT platform or BRT bus stop."

Motions arising

16. Development Permit Tracking and Reporting of Infrastructure Needs

That Council direct Administration to augment Home is Here recommendation 1.C.13.l by tracking Development Permit applications on RC-G parcels city-wide to identify areas where increased densification requires infrastructure investment (including but not limited to water, roads, and parks), and bring forward the most appropriate funding tool to ensure growth is supported with proper infrastructure, with a report back to Council through Infrastructure and Planning Committee once each year at the end of the year

17. Summary Report on Resource and Budget Implications

That Council direct Administration to bring a summary of the cumulative budget, resource and workplan implications resulting from the final Council amendments made to the original recommendation on CPC2024-0213 to the 2024 June 11 Executive Committee. 

18. Advocacy to Reduce the Appeal Period

That Council request that the Mayor write a letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs on behalf of Council requesting that the development permit appeal period specified in section 686(1)(a) of the Municipal Government Act be shortened from 21 days to 14 days to facilitate the faster release of such permits. 


This information has no legal status and cannot be used as an official interpretation of the various bylaws, codes and regulations currently in effect. The City of Calgary accepts no responsibility to persons relying solely on this information. Web pages are updated periodically. ​

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