The Heritage Communities Local Area Plan was recommended for Council approval by the Infrastructure and Planning Committee (IPC) on April 5, 2023 in a 7-2 vote. A recording of Committee, presentation and attachments can be viewed online.
 
The Heritage Communities Local Area Plan will be brought forward to a Public Hearing of Council on June 20, 2023. Anyone who is interested can participate in the Public Hearing of Council by submitting comments in writing, registering to speak or watching in-person or online at Calgary.ca/Council.

Under The City's Non-Market Housing Land Sale Program, three new City-owned land sites are available for sale, at below-market value, to eligible non-profit organizations. The City is also offering a brand-new funding program to purchasers of the sites to expedite construction and open doors as quickly as possible.  

The three land sites, located in the communities of Bowness, Parkdale, and Erlton were selected for their close proximity to amenities such as transit, grocery stores and employment.

This is the third round of The City’s program to offer land to non-profit organizations at below market value. The previous two rounds were launched in 2018 and 2020 and have delivered more than 280 homes either completed or in construction.  

Leveraging City-owned land is a key objective of Foundations for Home, Calgary’s Corporate Affordable Housing Strategy. Applications to purchase the sites will be accepted to April 28, 2023. Applicants must be a non-profit provider with experience in the supply and management of non-market housing.

Once the selection process is complete, successful applicants will be required to go through the development permit and/or land use amendment approval process, including community engagement, prior to starting construction.

In response to discussions with industry, The City of Calgary has updated guidelines to the Construction Drawing Minor Revisions (CD-MR) specifically what is required to receive a formal Construction Completion Certificate (CCC).
 
Effective March 2023, applicants will no longer be required to complete a full Construction Drawing Submission to capture CD-MR changes when applying for a CCC. Going forward, designs reviewed and approved by Development Engineering on a CD-MR will be considered an official approval. Construction Drawings should be submitted at the ‘Asbuilt’ stage of construction. All CD-MR updates will be captured at that time.
 
The new guidelines will be retroactively applied to all construction drawings which have not
attained their CCC. This change will reduce the time needed to create full submission drawings and will reduce the time needed to review resubmission data. Questions about the new process or an existing application? Contact Planning Services Centre.
 

The Plus 15 Network downtown is now accessible for more Calgarians with the completion of accessibility improvements to 26 Plus 15 bridges. 

Many of the Plus 15 bridges were built in the 1970s and 1980s and required improvements to bring them up to modern-day accessibility standards. The major accessibility upgrades included:

• Replacing flooring with stable hard surface, colour-contrasting flooring, and tactile indicators;
• Incorporation of continuous graspable handrails;
• Installation of automated doors;
•  Removal of barriers such as stairs; and
•  Construction or modification of several ramps.

The City and its partners own and operate the Plus 15 Network in downtown Calgary, which includes 86 bridges and more than 16 kilometres of elevated walkways.

For more information, visit calgary.ca/plus15accessibility.

The City of Calgary is committed to supporting small businesses by providing resources, information and opportunities that can help them succeed and grow.

Did you know we have a dedicated team of Business Experience Representatives, who will help business owners work through the regulatory process of opening a restaurant, brewery or distillery business in Calgary? Business Experience Reps act as the main point of contact, guiding applicants through each step of the business licensing and permitting process.

Since introducing the customized Business Experience Representative program, we’ve reduced the time to issue building permits for restaurants and breweries by 22 per cent between 2021 and 2022.

Business owners who are interested in opening a restaurant or brewery can verify approval and inspection requirements with a member of our Business Experience team, by calling the Planning Services Center at 403.268.5311.

More information about the regulatory process is available at calgary.ca/restaurants

Stay tuned for upcoming webinars we’re hosting in April. Attending live webinars allows you to receive up to date information, learn from the experts, ask questions and get answers in real time.

April 18 - Hiring a licensed contractor
April 19 - Getting a temporary or permanent patio
 
You can also check out our growing library of recorded webinars on calgary.ca/webinar. Watch previously recorded webinars including Developing a Safe and Legal Backyard Suite, Developing a Safe and Legal Secondary Suite, Becoming a Licensed Contractor and more!
 
Have you attended one of our webinars? Let us know how we did by completing our survey. This survey will take less than five minute to complete. Your feedback will help shape future webinars and all answers will be anonymous!