Developing A Community: Development Guidelines

Developing A Community Introduction Who Pays? Community Design & Maintaining Affordability Development Guidelines The Approval Process Why Does A Lot Cost A Lot?

Developers must adhere to various regulations in the design and construction stages. Presently, a variety of legislative documents work in coordination with the Province's Municipal Government Act ("MGA") to govern the development of land in the province. In Calgary, the primary regulatory document for land development is the City of Calgary Land Use Bylaw. Things such as road rights of way, building setbacks, zoning requirements, parking and signage requirements, etc. are strictly set in the Land Use Bylaw.

Prior to consulting the Land Use Bylaw, however, research must include other larger scale planning documents produced by the City of Calgary. Community Plans, Area Structure Plans, Growth Area Management Plans, are examples of such plans. These planning documents outline, in a generalized fashion, the preferred development strategies for many of the established and growing areas in the city as recommended by the City of Calgary Planning, Development and Assessment Department. At this time developers often arrange a 'pre-application' meeting with city planners to discuss proposed plans for the site.

After a careful study of the above-mentioned broad range planning documents a detailed design stage begins. In addition to the rules and regulations established in the City of Calgary Land Use Bylaw, developers will also have to adhere to the regulations established in other 'standard specification' documents. These documents outline such things as engineering specifications (for street construction, sewer placement, etc), parks / landscape specifications, etc. The City also produces a document of subdivision standards, as well as a variety of other regulatory documents.