Growth and change happens in a community with or without a Local Area Plan. Market forces, consumer demand and other factors will drive change in the community. However, in areas with high demand that do not have a Local Area Plan, developers will often have to undertake site-by-site rezoning applications in order to build developments to meet demand for new housing and businesses.

This site-by-site approach can create uncertainty for local residents, who don’t know where the next application will come and what it will propose. It also creates uncertainty for developers, who don’t know for certain what types of proposals will be acceptable where. Without a local area plan, conversations about growth and change happen application by application, often in a manner disconnected from a wider vision.

A local area plan helps create more certainty for all stakeholders by outlining the general expectation for what scale and type of new development is appropriate where and what policies will help shape development that is proposed.

There have been considerable changes to the make-up of households in Calgary, and specifically in the Westbrook communities over the last 50 years. Due to a number of factors, the average number of people living in a home over this period has substantially decreased. In the Westbrook communities there were 3.6 people living in a home in 1969, and in 2019, it was 2.3. A major reason for this is the number of children per household has significantly decreased. To maintain the same number of children in a community, or increase it, more housing needs to be created for more households.

We also know that all forms of housing attract households with children. In fact, in the Westbrook communities, the average rowhouse or townhouse has more children living in it than in the average single detached home. When new housing is added, such as replacing a bungalow with two semi-detached dwellings, or several homes with an apartment, the number of children in the community increases.

Simply put, communities that remain predominantly single-detached areas have seen the number of children in their neighbourhoods decrease and communities that have allowed new semi-detached homes, rowhouses, townhouses and apartments have seen an increase in the number of children living in them. In the Westbrook communities, over the last 20 years, the communities of Killarney, Spruce Cliff and Richmond have added 436, 207 and 171 children (0-19 years old) respectively, while the communities of Wildwood, Westgate, Glenbrook and Glendale have lost 16, 117, 24 and 92 children respectively (Shaganappi, Scarboro West and Rosscarrock have added under 40 children each). While children do live in single-detached homes, more children are moving out of single-detached areas than are moving in. Keeping schools open means allowing more types of housing.

During the Local Area Planning process, the project team corresponds with local school boards to understand local school conditions and any other issues the school boards may have. By working together with the school boards, the plan team can better understand any potential issues with school capacity, pedestrian safety and traffic concerns, or any other issues facing local schools.

No. New development must always go through the proper permitting and approval process. For proposed development that conforms to existing zoning, developers must submit development permit applications, which detail the design (building height, size, materials, parking, landscaping, etc.) of the proposed development prior to proceeding with construction. The public can view the details of proposed developments, including plans, and can submit comments on proposed developments through the Development Map application (Development Map (PDMAP) (calgary.ca)). Affected parties can also appeal the approval of a discretionary development to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board. Some types of developments, called permitted uses, such as contextual single and semi-detached dwellings, are not subject to public comment, are automatically approved by the development authority and are not subject to appeal as long as they follow all the rules of the bylaw.

If a proposed development does not conform to the existing zoning, and a developer wishes to bring the zoning in line with the Local Area Plan, the developer must submit a land use redesignation (rezoning) application. This process is also open to public comment, and similarly to development permits, information is posted on the Development Map application (Development Map (PDMAP) (calgary.ca)). The decision on a land use redesignation (rezoning) application is made by City Council, and a public hearing is held prior to the decision.

As we refine the plan and finalize the urban form category and scale modifier maps, our colleagues model potential growth scenarios based on the plan to understand how the population of the area can change over time. This model is then used by our transportation and water resources departments to analyze infrastructure capacity and usage based on potential population growth. This analysis will help identify potential upgrades that may be needed as growth occurs in the plan area. This information is also shared with other utility partners, such as Enmax, so they can similarly forecast growth and infrastructure capacity and plan for upgrades.

As we refine the plan and finalize the urban form category and scale modifier maps, our colleagues model potential growth scenarios based on the plan to understand how the population of the area can change over time. This model is then used by our transportation and water resources departments to analyze infrastructure capacity and usage based on potential population growth. This analysis will help identify potential upgrades that may be needed as growth occurs in the plan area. This information is also shared with other utility partners, such as Enmax, so they can similarly forecast growth and infrastructure capacity and plan for upgrades.

No. The Local Area Plan itself does not rezone land. Property/landowners determine if and when to propose to rezone their land. If a land use rezoning (redesignation) were brought forward by a property/landowner, it would be reviewed for alignment with the Westbrook Hill Communities Local Area Plan, if the Local Area Plan is approved by Council. The Local Area Plan provides direction that would inform and guide decisions about development in the area.

City Council makes the final decision on land use zoning applications. Administration must review all rezoning proposals and makes a recommendation to Council based on planning merits, supporting policy and comments received. Council refers to the Local Area Plan and other City policy and holds a public hearing prior to making a decision. Council can make a decision based on their own interpretation of policies, site characteristics and the merits of the application.

The Local Area Plan provides high-level policy guidance and a framework for how growth and change could be accommodated in the plan area. The Local Area Plan identifies the urban form categories and scale modifiers to identify where the different scales of growth and change should occur.

The current Land Use Bylaw outlines the rules and regulations for development of land in Calgary for each district (zone). It also outlines the process for making decisions for development permit applications. The Land Use Districts provide specific rules and requirements such as parking, lot coverage, allowable uses, setbacks and landscaping.

Other policies, guidelines and implementation tools provide further guidance for growth and change in a community.

One of the benefits of housing diversity and choice in a community is that it supports lifelong living as people’s needs change through their lifetime. Housing diversity offers different forms of homes that support the different needs of different people at different stages of their life.

Absolutely. All types of homes are used by all types of households. Just as you can find households with children living in semi-detached, duplex, rowhouse, townhouse and apartment homes, you can also find singles and couples without children in single-detached homes. In fact, in the Westbrook Communities, rowhouses and townhouses are more likely to attract households with children. The average number of children living in a typical rowhouse or townhouse in the Westbrook Communities is 0.6, while it is only 0.56 in single-detached homes.

Three-storey homes are already allowed to be built in every community. As long as a home is within the height and lot coverage allowed, it can be approved by The City. Some communities are already seeing older bungalows being torn down and replaced with three-storey homes, and this is allowed throughout the city. Over 550 new single-detached homes have been built in the Heritage Communities in the last 20 years, often replacing smaller bungalows with larger new homes.

No. Neither the Land Use Bylaw nor the Local Area Plan regulate the materials or architectural design of homes. The Bylaw does regulate built form, which includes things such as lot coverage, building height and landscaping requirements, but the architectural style of a home is up to each individual homebuilder and owner.

No. Semi-detached homes and duplexes generally have similar height and lot coverage as single-detached homes. Allowing semi-detached homes and duplexes doesn’t increase the allowable size of new homes, but it does allow two homes (plus suites) in a single building instead of one (plus suites).

Those details are not in the scope of the Local Area Plan; however, at the development permit stage details such as building design, site constraints, landscaping, parking, utilities and waste and recycling staging areas are discussed and carefully looked at. Privacy is also discussed as part of the design of the new development. For example, glass blocks or frosted glass can be placed when side windows are proposed. All development permits include the opportunity for the public to provide comments during the review of the proposal as well as to appeal the decision about a proposed discretionary development.

Currently, the Land Use Bylaw permits small-scale homes including single-detached homes to be built up to three storeys; however, specific design details are looked at during the development permit stage. The proposed development should align with the contextual rules set in the Land Use Bylaw. In addition, during the development permit application review, the file manager reviews comments from the public and discusses options with the applicant to better integrate the new proposed development into the existing context.

Collector streets are defined by our Complete Streets Guide (tp021-complete-streets-policy.pdf), as streets that collect traffic from Arterial Streets and Primary Collectors and distribute it to other local streets. These streets typically have higher volume than residential streets and often serve transit routes. The map linked below shows which streets in the Westbrook Communities that are identified as collector streets.

Westbrook Street Map

Input provided by citizens and stakeholders helps the project team understand perspectives, opinions and concerns through all phases of the project. Input collected in each phase of the project helps influence and inform the content, concepts and policies that are created and refined throughout the process. The City ensures background information is provided to help inform input, and the topics and questions that we are engaging on can be influenced or changed based on the input provided.

Throughout the project, the project team shares what was heard, highlights the key themes raised, and provides responses for how key themes will be addressed and considered. You can find What We Heard Reports and What We Did Reports from previous phases of engagement on the project home page at Calgary.ca/Westbrook. Nothing has been finalized, we will still be making changes to the draft plan based on input provided in this current phase of engagement. A Phase 3 What We Heard Report and What We Did Report will be created once engagement has closed.

Public input is an important part of local area planning, but is one of many areas of consideration. Other areas include: existing policy, economic viability, professional expertise and technical feasibility, which all factor into the ultimate decision-making process and concept development.

Input that is collected by community associations and shared with The City, such as information recently compiled and provided by the Glendale Community Association, is taken in and reviewed by the team as one of the many pieces of input and feedback we receive through the process. Input collected outside of The City’s process is not included in The City’s What We Heard Report which only includes engagement led by The City.

We are very thoughtful about the questions that we ask through the local area planning process to ensure the questions being asked and responses provided are actionable or in scope in terms of the project parameters and ability for input to influence changes and refinements to the local area plan concepts and content.

We also want to ensure all residents and other stakeholders are provided with the same opportunities for input through each phase of the project to ensure opportunities to influence the local area plan are equitable for everyone in the plan area.

Planning is complex and all residents and other stakeholders need to be provided with the same background information, context and rationale prior to providing feedback. We must ensure an equitable process where everyone has the same opportunities to provide feedback based on the same questions, background information, and scope/parameters to influence decisions.