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SEPTEMBER 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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CUSTOMER SERVICE
Software upgrade will temporarily affect some online tools
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We’re upgrading some software that will temporarily affect access to a few of our Planning & Development Services online tools.
The following applications will be offline from 4:30 p.m. Sep. 29 until 8 a.m. Oct. 3.
Public input on development applications is an essential part of the development process. During this outage, please email your input on applications open for comments to approvals@calgary.ca.
The City schedules outages for times when traffic is anticipated to be low, and we provide as much advance notice as possible; you may have seen the outage alert on our calgary.ca pages. These tools will continue to be available before the outage period and resume by 8 a.m. on Oct 3.
For questions about the software upgrade project, email us at approvals@calgary.ca.
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ENABLING
Bylaw recommendations aim to build certainty in Calgary communities
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Photo credit: Gravity Architecture
For the past several years, market demand for residential structures like rowhouses, townhouses and fourplexes has increased, but developers face challenges under the current Land Use Bylaw. Such structures require applicants to apply for a direct control (DC) district designation.
While most DC applications are approved by Council, this approach results in slightly different rules for everybody. It's confusing and complicates the process of building these types of new homes.
In April, Council directed Administration to address the volume of DC applications by proposing regulatory changes. Our recommendations are designed to provide clarity and certainty for residents, applicants and developers, in building these homes across Calgary communities. They were approved by the Infrastructure & Planning Committee on Sept. 9 and will be presented to Council on Oct. 4.
Here’s a summary of the recommendations:
- Add the Housing – Grade-Oriented (H-GO) District. The H-GO District is a new housing district for Inner City properties. It would allow a range of grade-oriented housing.
- Amend the Residential – Grade-Oriented Infill (R-CG)(R-CGex) District by:
- Adding the discretionary use of Townhouse to allow units that do not directly face the street and may be located at the rear of a parcel.
- Allowing for buildings to be designed in different configurations. Should a second building be designed in the rear, there will be a maximum height of 8.6 metres for the rear building.
- Requiring a minimum courtyard width of 6.5 metres.
- Requiring a minimum parking requirement of 0.375 per unit and suite.
- Amend the General Rules of Multi-Residential Districts by:
- Allowing suites within units that are not stacked.
- Standardizing minimum parking requirements across districts.
For more information on the Oct. 4 presentation to Council, please visit Planning Matters.
If approved, these amendments will reduce the need for DC applications, meeting both Council’s objective and saving our industry partners time and money.
Connect with us:
- Keep an eye on the r/Calgary subreddit for an Ask Us Anything session with the project team!
- Provide your questions, thoughts or feedback online at calgary.ca/housingchoice.
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COLLABORATION
Connect to affect climate change
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The City is hosting its 4th annual Calgary Climate Symposium to continue the conversation about climate change – how it affects Calgarians, what we can do together, and why we need to talk about it. Connect with community leaders, entrepreneurs, prominent climate experts and City staff for a series of unique (and free!) virtual learning and collaboration opportunities, Oct. 24-28.
Join us as we explore:
- how Calgary can position itself for a low carbon future and leverage economic opportunities
- how Calgary can strengthen communities to be resilient to climate change impacts and hazards
- how we ensure no one is left behind as we look to the future
Visit Calgary.ca/ClimateSymposium for full program details and registration information. Registration opens Oct. 1.
You can also join the conversation on social media using hashtag #yycClimateSymposium.
Please email our Environmental Outreach Coordinator cody.field@calgary.ca if you have any questions.
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CUSTOMER SERVICE
Clean Energy Improvement Program coming soon, contractors needed
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The Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP) will offer low-interest financing to homeowners who improve the energy efficiency of their home. We expect the program to launch in November or December.
Qualified contractors are essential to the success of the program. Watch calgary.ca/CEIP for announcements on contractor information sessions and how you can participate. You can also subscribe to receive email updates.
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MODERN GOVERNMENT
Planning matters for public hearings now advertised online
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City administration is proposing a new bylaw that will enable us to use digital channels to promote planning matters that go to public hearings. If it's approved, it will go to Council on Nov. 1.
In preparation, we’ve updated our calgary.ca/planningmatters web page to serve as a primary advertising source for public hearing notices.
This is one part of our transition toward a more modern and inclusive approach to advertising public hearings. By June 2023 we’ll no longer publish newspaper print ads, and instead rely on digital channels such as our website and social media. Our practice of posting signage at development sites and mailing letters to adjacent neighbours will not change.
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RECOGNITION
MUDA submission deadline extended
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The deadline for submitting entries to the 2022 Mayor’s Urban Design Awards (MUDA) has been extended to midnight, Sept. 30. We encourage all our city-building partners to share in this celebration of our city’s flourishing design culture.
MUDA recognizes the contribution of Calgary urban designers, architects, landscape architects, engineers, planners and artists to the livability of our city, and allows us to showcase our modern city to the world as an inclusive place to live, work and play.
Visit the webpage for more information and to submit your entry.
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CUSTOMER SERVICE
Registration open for new webinars
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Sign up for one, two or all three live webinars we’re hosting in October. Attending live webinars allows you to ask the experts questions and get answers in real time.
- Oct. 18: Hiring a Licensed Contractor
- Oct. 19: Secondary & Backyard Suites
- Oct. 25: Making Your Home More Energy Efficient
You can also check out our growing library of recorded webinars on calgary.ca/webinar.
Webinars are hosted through Microsoft Teams. Subtitles for Simplified Chinese, Hindi, Filipino, French, Spanish and Urdu are available.
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CUSTOMER SERVICE
Planning Services Centre continues operating at Whitehorn
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Planning an in-person visit to the Planning Services Centre? Don’t forget we’re still operating in our temporary location while repairs to our Municipal Building space continue.
Visit us at Whitehorn Multi-Services Centre (3705 35 Street N.E.) for application processing, permitting services, business licensing and historical records Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Please use the side entrance to access the Planning & Development Services counter. Or use our online services at apply.calgary.ca, ePermit or VISTA.
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COLLABORATION
Research partnership positioned to catalyze downtown reinvention
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The City is investing $350,000 in the University of Calgary’s Civic Commons Catalyst to support downtown revitalization research and initiatives.
This investment will support researchers at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape as they use data-driven research, innovative design and interdisciplinary approaches to support the transformation of underutilized public and private space in Calgary’s downtown. It also supports The City’s Downtown Strategy team in its efforts to reduce vacancy and increase vibrancy downtown.
Learn more.
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COLLABORATION
Help shape Calgary's next four years
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The City is continuing our conversation with Calgarians as we build the 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budgets. Online engagement is open with a survey on service value, equity and inclusion, fiscal responsibility, social wellbeing, sustainable growth and change, and more.
There will also be pop-up events across Calgary through the month of September, with opportunities to speak to City staff. The insights we gather from citizens will be provided to City Council for consideration when making decisions on service plans and budgets in November.
Share your thoughts today.
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RECONCILIATION
Commemorate with us
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