On February 4, 2025, Council defeated the motion to give three readings to amend the North Hill (2021), Westbrook (2023) and Heritage (2023) Communities Local Area Plans. Council’s debate may be found here.

The proposed amendments to these Local Area Plans (LAPs) originate from the Home is Here: Calgary’s Housing Strategy Outcome 1.C.2 and city-wide rezoning where Council directed Administration “to review all plans already completed as part of the current Local Area Planning program, and engage with affected communities, to determine whether any amendments to the Local Area Plans are warranted as a result of the proposed rezoning, and report back to Infrastructure and Planning Committee with an interim update no later than 2025 Q1”.

As part of the Local Area Plan Reconnect, Administration drafted amendments to the Limited Scale policies under the Neighbourhood Local category Section 2.2.1.6, to remove location criteria for building forms containing three or more units. This was done to ensure alignment with the new base residential land use (zoning) district of Residential – Grade Oriented (R-CG) approved by Council through city-wide rezoning public hearing. The approach was informed by the engagement activities Administration undertook, including three in-person 'Conversation Series' events and three virtual meetings for community association board members. Various methods were used to raise awareness, such as mailed postcards, bold signs, emails to project subscribers and community associations, and informing ward offices.

There are impacts to Council’s decision:

• Continued misalignment between policy and land use bylaw rules

The Local Area Plan Reconnect was undertaken to bring the Local Area Plans that were approved prior to citywide rezoning into alignment with the new residential base district of R-CG by removing criteria for where row/townhouse could be located within different communities. The decision to not approve the proposed amendments means continued misalignment.

• Permitting uncertainty

Proposed development applications must comply with both policy provisions in the area redevelopment plan/local area plan and with the rules of the land use bylaw. The misalignment prevents approval of proposed development applications at the development permit stage.

As of December 6, 2024, there were 91 development permit applications under review or on hold in locations across the North Hill, Westbrook and Heritage Communities Local Area Plans. To be approved, some of these applications were dependent on the amendments proposed through LAP Reconnect. Administration is now further assessing these (and any new applications, as submitted) as to how to proceed. The next steps will vary by applications and may include approval, revisions to the proposed development to align with policy before approval, or ultimately refusal of the proposed development permit if alignment cannot be achieved.

As part of Council’s direction in 2024, Administration also worked with communities to identify community improvements that could help support additional growth and change in the area. These proposed investment opportunities and community improvements for each LAP will not be incorporated into the respective LAP at this time.

The project team would like to thank everyone who got involved with the Local Area Plan Reconnect for their time and input. You can read more about the specific impacts to each of the local area plans by selecting your community below.