Calgary Plan | Key Ideas

KEY IDEAS

Creating walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods

The Calgary Plan supports intensification providing a greater mix of uses, with local populations that support walkable places with shops, services and amenities.



Cities are best served by mixed-use communities with local populations that support a blend of housing, employment, services, and retail. Denser, mixed-use communities also:

  • Bring people, businesses and services closer together, enabling a more walkable environment
  • Lead to increased choice in housing and mobility
  • Provide more opportunities for social connection
  • Create communities that are more adaptable to generational change, serving people and families throughout their lifespans
  • Bring people closer to employment, reducing commute times and increasing economic activity
  • Result in more adaptive communities that are resilient to a changing climate
  • Offer environmentally sustainable lifestyle choices
  • Promote walkable communities
  • Create environments that cater to the needs of families
  • Ensure residents have access to a diverse range of amenities
  • Expand housing options for residents

Increasing housing choice and supply

The Calgary Plan enables increased housing choice and supply by making it easier to build a range of housing types across the city.

Many cities are confronted with the challenges of housing affordability. By enabling the construction of both market and non-market housing, cities help supply better respond to demand. A healthy supply of diverse housing:

  • Increases housing choice and removes barriers for residents
  • Helps manage rising costs associated with a lack of housing supply, keeping the city attractive to people and businesses
  • Supports local businesses
  • Make it easier to build housing
  • Support stable home ownership and affordability
  • Offer Calgarians diverse housing types
  • Increase non-market housing availability
  • Place housing near transit

Calgary Plan | City Structure

The Calgary Plan sets out the overall structure of the city and high-level land uses for each area. These areas will inform future Local Area Planning and designation of land use zones.


NEIGHBOURHOODS

Role: Identifies areas suitable for a range of housing types, local services and amenities to meet the needs of residents. (Direction in existing Municipal Development Plan)

What does the map show?

  • Areas that are not industrial or large publicly owned spaces

Mix of uses:

  • Residential
  • Local commercial
  • Services, home-based businesses, and recreation

Form and experience:

  • Ground-oriented housing
  • Multi-family housing in and near neighbourhood centres and main streets
  • Neighbourhood centres and main streets with local shops, services, leisure and learning choices
  • Access to multi-functional parks and open space


ACTIVITY SUPPORT AREAS

Role: Identifies areas with mobility connections, amenities and/or other features (like transitions in height and land uses) between Activity Areas with Neighbourhoods, the Greater Downtown or Industrial Areas.

What does the map show?

  • Existing inner-city areas, as defined in the current MDP
  • Areas within 400 metres of existing and planned Primary Transit Network routes (existing policy direction)

Mix of uses:

  • Employment commercial / institutional
  • Residential
  • Recreation
  • Local commercial
  • Services
  • Home-based businesses

Form and experience: Activity Support Areas are new additions to the City Structure.

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ACTIVITY AREAS

Role: Identifies areas suitable for higher intensity mixed-use development on main streets, near transit stations and in existing centres. (Direction in existing Municipal Development Plan)

What does the map show?

  • Areas within 600 metres of existing and planned primary transit stations (existing policy direction)
  • Existing activity centres, as defined in the current MDP
  • Areas within 200 metres of main streets, as defined in the current MDP

Mix of uses:

  • Employment commercial / institutional
  • Residential
  • Recreation
  • Services

Form and experience:

  • Main streets and centres
  • Regional employment / commercial centres / campus development
  • Access to multi-functional parks and open spaces
City Structure Map

Zoning Bylaw

The Zoning Bylaw will help deliver on the Calgary Plan’s housing priorities, including the development of vibrant communities and greater housing choice.

Many conversations about housing and zoning are happening right now, including Rezoning for Housing. The City Building program’s approach to base residential zoning will follow Council’s direction as the R-CG discussion unfolds.

HOUSING

What is the idea for new zoning direction?

  • Enabling more forms of housing across all zones
  • Reflecting Council’s direction regarding base residential zoning
  • Allowing housing up to six-storeys as a permitted use where identified by zone
  • Enabling more mixing of uses in appropriate locations
  • Making it easier for home-based business or childcare service to operate

How have zones been consolidated?

The Zoning Bylaw concept considers eight housing-specific or mixed-use zones that support housing.

There are three primarily residential zones with limited or no commercial uses allowed:

  • Housing-Small Scale
  • Housing-Middle Scale
  • Housing-Low-Rise


Future mixed-use residential developments will have multiple options depending on their scale and location. In most parts of the City, three zones will be used, and function like the existing MU-1 and MU-2 zones:

  • Mixed Use-Low Rise
  • Mixed Use – Mid-Rise
  • Mixed Use – High Rise


Several other zones include the ability to include housing uses as well, including the Special Purpose - Integrated Civic Facility zone that would include developments such as mixed use firehalls and apartments.


COMMERCIAL

What is the idea for new zoning direction?

  • Expanding the number of permitted uses in commercial zones
  • Removing barriers for the redevelopment of commercial areas

How have zones been consolidated?

The Zoning Bylaw concept considers three commercial zones. These zones would apply to different scales of commercial areas.

  • Commercial – Community for smaller commercial areas and strip mall style developments
  • Commercial – General for larger commercial units, more vehicle-oriented uses such as car dealerships, and offices
  • Commercial – Large Format for the largest office and shopping centres, including malls

The consolidation of commercial districts into these three core zones reflects the introduction of more commercial uses across more zones. Because of this, less “standalone” commercial zones are required.

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