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Home > Developing a Community > Approval Process and Community Design
Developing a Community: Approval Process and Community Design
Developers (see full listing of UDI - Calgary Developer members) dedicate a great deal of time, effort and resources when designing a new community. Consideration must be given to design elements such as:, site access, street layout, building orientation, the location of open space (including linear pathways, sports fields and school sites), access to important community nodes, the preservation of highly significant natural areas (Environmental Reserves), efficient servicing, landscaping, proximity to commercial areas, etc. Decisions are also made regarding housing type (single family, apartments, townhouses) thereby providing a mix of housing to suite various levels of affordability.
Before construction begins on the new community, developers are required to go through an intensive approval process that involves various City of Calgary Departments, consultation with the general public/stakeholders and finally City Council. During the process, a developer will likely require approvals for Land Use/Outline Plan, Development Permit, Building Permits and a variety of other municipal requirements.
Once a plan has been developed, the first step in the process generally involves the developer, or a consultant working on their behalf, submitting a Land Use Application/Outline Plan to The City of Calgary's Planning, Development and Assessment Department. This plan will describe the proposed land uses (zoning) for the site, the proposed road layout, park locations and sizes, natural areas, surrounding context, conceptual servicing, etc. The plan is circulated to various Departments within The City of Calgary (Planning, Water/Sewers, Roads, Parks, etc), as well as a variety of other organizations (School Boards, Utility Companies, Fire Department, etc). The City's CPAG (Corporate Planning Applications Group) is responsible for the review process.
The plan is then reviewed by the various departments/organizations (this process can take many months or even years to complete), and comments are then returned for the developer to address. Almost all plans require some level of modification at this time. When the plan is modified, it is resubmitted and again reviewed by the CPAG team. This process continues until both the CPAG group and the applicant are reasonably satisfied.
The application/plan is then brought before the Calgary Planning Commission (CPC) who reviews the plan and, if satisfied, recommend approval and forward the plan to a Public Hearing of Council. At Council, the application will be presented (typically by City Planning staff) and Council members will give the application its 'first reading'. The applicant, along with members of the public, are given an opportunity to speak either in favor or opposed to the plan (other previous public consultation sessions would have taken place prior to this time, usually in the form of consulting with Community Associations and/or hosting of public open houses).
Once discussion at the Public Hearing is complete, City Council will vote to approve or reject the application (they can also elect to have the item tabled until various issues related to the submissions are adequately addressed). Once the application/plan has been given first reading, it then requires a second and third reading prior to final approval being granted (this is typically a formality and usually happens quickly).
The time involved in the approval process varies significantly, although all approvals must be granted prior to the commencement of site construction.
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