Development Approvals plan and budget
Development Approvals works with Calgarians, communities and customers to enable building a great city through developing land in Calgary. As a regulatory authority, Development Approvals supports customers with advisory services to help them through all regulatory requirements for land development projects, while balancing customer, citizen, and community needs.
Our customers
- homeowners
- business owners
- land developers and supporting professionals
- builders
- contractors
Our partners
- Federal and Provincial departments
- community associations
- school boards
- utility companies
- advocacy and industry groups
Value to Calgarians
- attracts growth
- supports businesses
- contributes to vibrant neighbourhoods
What we deliver
- land use amendments and outline plan recommendations
- subdivision endorsements
- development permit approvals
- executed development agreements
- infrastructure construction permissions
Budget breakdown
Operating and capital budgets explained
The City develops two budgets to create impact aligned with Council’s Strategic Direction:
- The four-year (2023-2026) operating plans and budgets
- The five-year (2023-2027+) capital plans and budgets
The operating budget includes revenues, recoveries and spending related to ongoing operations. These include:
- Salaries, wages and benefits.
- Day to day programs, maintenance and services.
- Administration costs (e.g., insurance).
- Fuel
- Utilities
- Capital financing costs.
The City's total net operating budget is zero. This means we budget to collect the revenue needed to deliver services to Calgarians — no more, no less. We collect this revenue through property taxes and other sources.
The capital budget pays for long-lived assets. These provide the foundation for the services Calgarians rely on. They include:
- Maintenance of current infrastructure (e.g., bridges, buildings and playgrounds).
- Upgrades to existing community infrastructure.
- New infrastructure to provide services in areas that are underserved (e.g., Green Line).
- New infrastructure for growing areas of the city.
Learn more about our 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budgets.
See how the budget has been adjusted since November 2022
Measuring performance
We are measuring our performance in five areas. Each value is the goal we expect to reach by 2026.
What we've heard
Customer and industry stakeholder feedback identified the desire for online submission portals and a streamlined application process. Customers want increased transparency and predictability through improved customer service and communication. Providing new and relevant tools and features will improve the quality of submissions.
The service engages Calgarians in a meaningful way in order to balance development opportunities and associated economic impacts with community priorities and preferences. The City ensures rules and standards for development approvals are applied in a consistent, fair and transparent manner that result in quality and safe developments for customers and Calgarians.
From the perspective of Calgarians, Fairness and Quality are key service value dimensions, while Responsiveness, Convenience, and Legislative Compliance are considered slightly less important.
What we're watching
As Calgary's population continues to grow, the demand for housing, employment, and amenities keeps pace.
- Development Approvals monitors the projected application volumes to meet the needs of customers and respond to these market demands.
- Development Approvals has expanded self-serve options and will continue prioritizing enhancements of online services for customers.
Our initiatives
What we plan to do
Focus on delivering quality planning outcomes supported by innovative engineering solutions.
How we're going to get there
- Support the realization of development in Calgary, enhance the consistency of application reviews, and encourage greater certainty and predictability for customers by increasing the responsiveness and timely review of development applications. Continuous improvement towards a streamlined applications process, including better ways to track and measure effort along the approvals continuum, and improvements and updates to systems and tools.
- Support quality service delivery by ensuring we have the right resources at the right time to support the changing customer demands and market conditions. This can be accomplished through resource management, volume forecasting and proactive data analysis.
- Improve the experience and interaction of customers and Calgarians with the applications process through enhanced online service delivery that leverages technology to modernize, consolidate and streamline the products offered. This includes products on ApplyCentral, transitioning to digital advertisement, and building a “mobile friendly” development map.