The Riley Communities Local Area Planning project is one of the 42 multi-communities areas in the city. This project includes the communities of: Sunnyside, Hillhurst, West Hillhurst and Hounsfield Heights - Briar Hill.

A new local area plan will fill gaps in communities/areas where no local plan currently exists and replace other plans that are largely outdated. In this project context, the local area plan will cover multiple communities and will be a statutory plan adopted by Council as an Area Redevelopment Plan.

As part of the Riley Communities Local Area Plan, we will be working with interested or impacted groups and individuals in the plan area to create Heritage Guidelines. These will apply in areas of the Riley Communities that have concentrated groupings of heritage assets, sometimes known as character homes. Heritage assets are privately owned structures, typically constructed before 1945, that significantly retain their original form, scale, massing, window/door pattern and architectural details or materials.

The Guidelines will help ensure new development respects the historic character of existing homes and positively contributes to the ongoing historic nature of these areas. When the Guidelines are in place, any plans to build or renovate homes within the boundaries must meet the Heritage Guidelines.

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 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. More information on the Heritage Guidelines will be released along with opportunities to provide feedback as the plan is further developed.

To help inform our understanding of community context & trends in the local area plan, we are also undertaking a mobility study. This study will review existing and anticipated transportation issues and opportunities in the Riley communities. In addition, this study will provide a long-term roadmap for the City to guide transportation improvement projects and investments to address issues and opportunities over the next several years. This page will be updated as the project develops.