The City of Calgary Land Use Bylaw Review Project – Update to Communities
2007 January 11
The City of Calgary’s proposed new Land Use Bylaw (LUB) is now complete and will be available for public review the beginning of February. The new Bylaw is the result of a four-year collaboration between City Council, community organizations, industry and a Project Team of planning and legal specialists. Input from the public and from representatives of key user groups has fundamentally shaped the LUB and has helped the Review Team develop a document that achieves the best possible balance between the widely differing needs that exist in the vigorous and diverse city that Calgary has become.
A Land Use Bylaw is one of the most important of all municipal bylaws. It is a large and technically complex document that must meet terms set out by the Municipal Government Act. As the bylaw which regulates the use and development of all buildings and land within the city, the LUB affects every property owner and influences the character of every community over time.
Calgary’s current LUB, approved in 1980, has been amended 155 times and 120 new policy documents that affect it have been passed by Council. Those changes, combined with Calgary’s phenomenal growth, higher consumer expectations and new social and environmental directions have made the old Bylaw inefficient and difficult to administer.
The new Land Use Bylaw introduces several new land use districts, new housing types and it provides clearer definitions of what land uses are permitted in particular areas and which uses will be subject to discretionary interpretation when development applications come into The City.
It treats development and redevelopment in established, older communities differently from that in the new, developing communities. It recognizes that the context and personality that already exists in established communities must be allowed to shape and influence new development in those communities.
The LUB will go before Council in a Public Hearing in March. If Council approves the new Bylaw, it is expected to become effective January 1, 2008. Internal systems and training modules are now being developed to aid in the transition process. And, because a Land Use Bylaw is an evolving document that changes with new Council policies, a maintenance team will be formed to keep the new Bylaw up-to-date.
More Information call (within the City of Calgary limits) 3-1-1 or go to Land Use Bylaw (after February 1, 2007) to find a full-text version of the Proposed new LUB, Land Use Maps showing the designation for every property in the city and complete information about the review process, contact data and a question form.
Persons interested in speaking at the Public Hearing of Council should call (within the City of Calgary limits) the City Clerk’s Office at 3-1-1.
