On October 16, 2024, the Riley Communities Local Area Plan was originally presented to the Infrastructure and Planning Committee (IPC) and the recommendation to refer the Plan back to Administration was passed. The motion was then presented to Council on October 29, 2024 and passed unanimously. Administration was directed by Council to review and amend portions of the Plan based on the referral motion direction below:

1. Prioritize greater density around Transit Oriented Development (TOD) sites within the Riley Communities Local Area Plan;
2. Focus on planning for growth and change that integrates multi-modal mobility and improved citizen experience of land use development that enables walkability, community connections, and integrated commercial and residential uses for all ages and abilities; and
3. Report back to the Infrastructure and Planning Committee by Q2 2025.

On January 8, 2025, the revised Riley Communities Local Area Plan, in response to the above referral motion, was presented to IPC. IPC recommended proceeding with Council’s Public Hearing meeting of March 4, 2025.

The Riley Communities Local Area Plan will be presented at a Public Hearing of Council for first reading on March 4, 2025. Members of the public can share their thoughts into all aspects of the entire Plan at that time.

In addition, the Riley Communities Heritage Guidelines Implementation Guide and Heritage Guidelines will be presented at the Public Hearing of Council on March 4, 2025.

Since September 28, 2022, we have been working with area residents, community associations, heritage advocates, home builders and developers to create Heritage Guidelines for an area in the Riley Communities with a concentrated grouping of heritage assets, specific to the communities of Sunnyside and Hillhurst. Heritage assets, sometimes known as character homes, are privately-owned structures, typically constructed prior to 1945, that significantly retain their original form, scale, massing, window/door pattern and architectural details or materials. Communities in Calgary have sought these types of area-based heritage conservation tools for a long time. In July 2020, Council approved a series of conservation tools and incentives to offer that area-based approach.

In October 2023, during Phase 3 of the development of the Riley Communities Local Area Plan (LAP), the final draft Heritage Guidelines were shared with the public to inform residents within the Heritage Guideline Area. This included both an in-person session and virtual information session with an Engage Portal where the public could provide comments and Administration could gather feedback to finalize the Heritage Guidelines.

Riley Communities Heritage Guidelines Implementation Guide and Heritage Guidelines ensure that new development built in this heritage-rich area of the Riley Communities are sensitive to the historic context and respect existing heritage assets. The Heritage Guidelines are included in the Riley Communities LAP, the long-range planning policy document that guides growth and change within these communities, that is going to a Public Hearing of Council on March 4, 2025.

The intent is that the Heritage Guidelines will address general characteristics of buildings rather than enforcing strict architectural rules. Although the design of new development needs to be sensitive to and respect existing heritage assets, the intent of the Heritage Guidelines is not to require new development to have a historic appearance. Instead, the Heritage Guidelines are written to encourage modern development that is highly contextual and echoes the past context established by existing heritage assets.

Communities change and evolve over time. Conversations about where, why and how revitalization and redevelopment should happen are essential to ensure our communities change in the right ways.

Through the local area planning process, we'll work together to create a future vision for how land could be used and redeveloped in the Riley Communities area. A local area plan outlines a future vision for the area, provides guidance on what growth and change makes sense where, and includes development direction that residents, landowners, builders and developers, city planners and Councillors can commonly refer to as new development ideas are proposed by property owners and landowners in the area.

Learn more about Local Area Planning in Calgary.

Below are reports completed after each phase of engagement.

To learn about what we heard from the public and other key impacted and interested groups view the What We Heard Reports and What We Heard Engagement Summary.

To see key themes raised as well as summaries of what we did in each phase of engagement, view the What We Did Reports.

Related Planning Initiatives

We’re planning and building our city now to ensure we remain a place where home is sustainable, diverse, accessible, equitable and liveable for everyone. We need to act now as we are quickly approaching a population of two million Calgarians.

Current initiatives include:

• Home is Here: The City of Calgary’s Housing Strategy: This strategy aspires to ensure that everyone living in Calgary has an affordable place to call home.
• City Building Program: This program of work, which includes the Calgary Plan, Zoning Bylaw, and Street Manual, will set the forward-looking direction, and provide clear and user-friendly policy and regulation for The City and our partners to guide growth, mobility, land-use and development citywide.
• Rezoning for Housing: As part of the Home is Here: The City of Calgary’s Housing Strategy this work will present to Council a proposal to rezone low-density residential areas to a base residential district that supports more housing options and improves affordability in all communities.

Learn more and get involved in these current initiatives focused on supporting the ongoing planning and building of our city.

Your feedback is needed to help shape how your community and the surrounding area grows and changes over the next 30 years.

Click the links below to review previous engagement phases and to get involved in current engagement as the Riley Communities Local Area Plan is created and refined.