Council supports exempting rowhouses from development permit applications in new communities
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In a 12-0 vote, council agreed to amend the city's land use bylaw to enable the exemption.
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'This has been a long time coming and members of industry have told us for quite some time that it would be much better if we didn't have to do DPs on rowhouses,' said Mayor Jyoti Gondek. 'There was obviously a reason and rationale from administration, (but) I'm glad we could sort this out.'
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The development permit stage is when city staff review a proposed development's urban planning, utility and transportation-related considerations. The development permit typically precedes the building permit.
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The city claims the exemption approved Tuesday will reduce timelines for rowhouse applications in new neighbourhoods by approximately three months and will streamline the planning process to create more housing.
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Currently, low-density residential development is considered a permitted use in greenfield communities, according to the city, meaning proposed developments that align with the bylaw must be approved.
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Single-family and semi-detached homes do not require a development permit in new areas, but do require a building permit.
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While rowhouses are also classified as a permitted use in developing communities, they have, up until now, required a development permit.
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'I think in all the ways we can move quicker with housing, (this exemption) is very important,' said Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner, just before the vote. 'But it isn't lost on me that while we're making it easier to build rowhousing in new communities, we're still very much lagging in established communities.
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'But I think this is great. It'll lead the way and there are many things we can actually learn from the work we're doing in new and growing communities and apply those to established neighbourhoods in order to approve housing faster.'
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Ward 12 Coun. Evan Spencer pitched the exemption when council approved its housing strategy — Home is Here — in September 2023. He credited the idea to Gondek's deputy chief of staff, Amie Blanchette.
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Another aspect of the city's housing strategy was to change Calgary's default zoning district to R-CG in older communities. That change allowed for rowhouses and other semi-detached housing types, such as duplexes and fourplexes, to be built without first requiring a land use redesignation. However, those redevelopments still require a development permit before the project moves to the building permit stage.
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