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AUGUST 2022 NEWSLETTER
Planning & Development Services
Our mission: To plan and enable building a great Calgary
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Calgary is a great place to make a living and a life. Planning & Development Services continues to support our local economy and the aspirations of landowners by processing planning applications and building permits, driving policies that guide long-term planning, integrating strategies and actions to grow a resilient and sustainable city, and ensuring Calgary’s buildings are safe to occupy. We remain focused on providing great service for our customers and building great communities together.
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 We’re on Twitter! The City of Calgary’s Planning & Development Services department joined Twitter as another channel to showcase the planning work we do in Calgary and give the opportunity for more conversation about how we plan and enable building a great city. It’s a place where we're bringing the “social” back so we can engage with more audiences about what makes our city awesome now and in the future. Come join the conversation @yycplan! |
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ENABLING
Year-to-date industry activity hot on heels of record 2021 volumes and values
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Following a record year in 2021, the first six months of 2022 show activity in the construction industry continues to be robust with no signs of slowing down.
Here’s a snapshot of January to June permit application volumes, construction and occupancy values.
- Development permit applications - 4,492
- Building permit applications - 11,194
- Construction value across residential and commercial building permit types - $3.01B
- Combined construction type values - up 20% over 10-year median
- Commercial building permit applications value - $81.8M
- Construction value for food, entertainment and hospitality - up 262%
- Occupancies issued for projects valued at more than $25M - eight, for a combined value of $509.5M
For more context and details, read the full story in our newsroom.
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CUSTOMER SERVICE
Complete applications get approved faster
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The fastest way to get your building permit applications reviewed and approved is to submit them with all information required. We’re here to help you meet those requirements, but the best time to work with us is before you apply.
To the end of June, 33 per cent of the applications we received for Commercial, Industrial and Multi-residential building permits were incomplete. That requires more time and energy on everyone's part to get the application ready for review. The delays are avoidable, and we want you to proceed with your project as quickly as possible.
The solution? Before you apply, carefully review all the Application Requirements specific to your project at calgary.ca/CARL, and/or contact our Planning Services Centre to work with one of our staff to confirm your application is complete and ready to submit.
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CUSTOMER SERVICE
Industrial: Latest bylaw amendents in effect
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In its final meeting before the summer break, Council approved bylaws that amend both the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and Land Use Bylaw (LUB) to overcome specific development challenges in Calgary’s industrial areas. Highlights of the amendments are as follows.
Bylaw 36P2022 Municipal Development Plan
- Discourage land use redesignations of parcels five hectares or greater from industrial to non-industrial land uses.
Bylaw 44P2022 Land Use Bylaw
- Improve the regulations for waste management, recycling, and storage type uses.
- Streamline development process for certain industrial developments.
- Expand the listed uses in certain industrial districts.
Various housekeeping updates were also approved.
The amendments are in effect as of July 26, with the approval of Bylaw 44P2022. The official version of the Land Use Bylaw 1P2007, as well as the Online version of the Land Use Bylaw (OLUB) and the Listed Use Matrix, are now updated.
Please refer to the Council Report and attachments for more information, or contact our Planning Services Centre to understand how the amendments may affect active or future applications.
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ENABLING
Combined portfolio identifies balanced growth investment opportunities
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Also in its final meeting before summer break, Council was presented with a report outlining a strategy for growth in Calgary for the next four years. It's the first time the industrial areas, established communities and new communities were combined into one balanced portfolio of growth-enabling investments. The identified growth-enabling investments and potential new community growth areas will support growth and change throughout Calgary.
Council’s feedback is assisting us in prioritizing and finalizing the growth investment component of the 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budgets. Council directed public hearings be held in September on five new community business cases. They also directed that further information on new community and established area growth be presented to the Infrastructure & Planning Committee on Sep. 9 and Oct. 14, and to the Executive Committee on Oct. 18.
To learn more about the Citywide Growth Strategy, please visit calgary.ca/citywidegrowth.
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CUSTOMER SERVICE
We're updating how we advertise public hearings on planning proposals
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Planning & Development Services is updating the bylaws to modernize how we advertise public hearings of City Council on planning matters. Starting this month, public hearing notices will be fully detailed on our webpage, which we've also updated.
The full transition will be gradual. Newspaper ads will continue until June 2023, and we'll let the public know the changes are coming through other channels such as social media, web ads and community newsletters.
Having the public’s participation in planning matters is important to how we build Calgary. Modernizing our advertising methods will more effectively reach larger numbers of citizens on planning applications going to Council. As well, we’ve increased our efforts to connect with citizens who have limited English language skills by creating language-specific ads.
If you have an application coming up for a public hearing with Council, we recommend advising stakeholders of our advertising change through your community outreach efforts.
Visit calgary.ca/planningmatters for more details or contact approvals@calgary.ca with your questions.
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REGION
Province approves regional growth and servicing plans
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The provincial government approved the Calgary Municipal Region Board (CMRB) Growth Plan and Servicing Plan. Both take effect on Aug.15. The Growth Plan is a new strategy for sustainable growth for the Calgary Metropolitan Region, which includes eight member municipalities, including Calgary, and surrounding areas. It replaces the Interim Growth Plan.
With the Region expected to grow by one million people over the next 30 years, the plans were created to support the long-term economic, environmental and social wellbeing of the region. By providing a roadmap for growth priorities, they help provide certainty for municipalities and developers by identifying the best economic, environmental and social areas to service.
The Growth and Servicing Plans are different from past plans in that they:
- Support compact and contiguous growth with a focus on transit-oriented development at the regional scale.
- Reinforce the role of core urban areas as economic, cultural and social centres.
- Make efficient and cost-effective use of existing and planned infrastructure.
- Recognize the Calgary Metropolitan Region is water-constrained, and that growth must be managed accordingly.
- Support growth in rural municipalities, while also conserving agricultural land and resources.
Together, the plans’ policies and direction equip us as a region to collaborate and work together to make better and more coordinated decisions about servicing, mobility options and stewardship of our water and other environmental resources.
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RECOVERY
No average Calgarians share their stories about our great(er) downtown
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In our May edition, we shared an exciting new campaign called No Average Calgarian, which features stories from citizens on topics we know through research are important to Calgarians. This week, the second set of stories were released, and feature citizens from our greater downtown who are contributing to the overall health and prosperity of their areas and the city overall.
Featured are:
- a female small business owner
- a developer converting vacant office space to residential condos
- a resident of the downtown core who recently created the first community association for that area
- a family business with a long and recognized history in Calgary
Watch the video and learn more about recovery efforts underway at calgary.ca/respond.
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BUSINESS SUPPORT
Digital Service Squad helps small business
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In the spring, The City launched the Digital Service Squad (DSS), a program supporting free digital services to eligible small businesses in Calgary.
The DSS is staffed with 15 post-secondary students who can help eligible small businesses get online, adopt new technologies and embrace digital marketing for free through one-on-one assistance. To-date, more than 2,800 local businesses have registered for the DSS program.
The program is available to any for-profit business in Calgary that isn't a franchise and has 49 or fewer employees. Home-based businesses are eligible.
The Digital Service Squad is made possible by the Province’s Digital Economy Program, delivered through a partnership between Business Link and Digital Main Street, and funded by the Government of Alberta and Prairies Economic Development Canada.
For more information on the program or to register your business, visit calgary.ca/for-business/support/digital-service-squad.
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