The Greater Forest Lawn Communities Local Area Planning project is one of the 42 multi-communities areas in the city.

• Albert Park/Radisson Heights
• Applewood Park
• Dover
• Erin Woods
• Forest Heights
• Forest Lawn
• Forest Lawn Industrial
• Penbrooke Meadows
• Red Carpet
• Southview
• 09Q
• A portion of Golden Triangle

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plan will fill gaps in communities/areas where no local plan currently exists and replace other plans that are largely outdated.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 adopted by Council as an Area Redevelopment Plan.

The International Avenue Area Redevelopment Plan was created to guide development along 17 Avenue S.E. in 2018.

As part of the Greater Forest Lawn Communities Local Area Planning project, the International Avenue ARP will be revisited, and applicable policies will be translated to be integrated into the Greater Forest Lawn Communities Local Area Plan. The process is ongoing, and the initial work to translate the International Avenue ARP has begun in Draft Chapter 2 of the Greater Forest Lawn Local Area Plan.

Applications along 17th Avenue S.E. are being accepted for processing throughout the Greater Forest Lawn Local Area Planning process. Once the Greater Forest Lawn Local Area Plan is adopted by Council, the International Avenue ARP will be rescinded as development along 17th Avenue S.E. will then be guided by the Local Area Plan.

Until then, please refer to the International Avenue Area Redevelopment Plan for more information including development directions.

The Greater Forest Lawn Communities are made up of Albert Park/Radisson Heights, Applewood Park, Dover, Erin Woods, Forest Heights, Forest Lawn, Penbrooke Meadows, Red Carpet, Southview, 09Q and a portion of Golden Triangle.

Throughout engagement, the Planning team heard interest in changing the name of the “Greater Forest Lawn Communities Local Area Plan” to better reflect the communities included in the Plan area. Public engagement was conducted in Phase 3 to gather feedback for a potential new name for the Local Area Plan document. As a result, when the proposed Plan is presented to Council for a decision in Fall 2024, it will be recommended that Council approve the name East Calgary International Avenue Communities Local Area Plan as the new Plan name.

A local area plan sets the vision for growth and change in a group of communities over the next 30+ years. A local area plan provides guidance and direction on development and investment that residents, landowners, builders/developers, City Planners and Councillors can commonly refer to when new ideas are proposed for the area.

A local area plan will support your community as it changes by: 

• Increasing predictability about how the area could change in the future. 
• Responding to changing trends and demographics such as population decline, family composition, aging in place, housing preferences. 
• Expanding housing choice to welcome additional people and increase population. 
• Supporting local amenities and businesses through increased population. 
• Informing decisions about reinvestment such as improvements to public spaces. 
• Adding more homes, increasing bikeability, walkability and access to amenities and transit, as well as reducing the need to expand our city’s footprint all play a role in environmental sustainability. 

Growth and change happens in a community with or without a local area plan in place. Areas that do not have a local area plan still see site-by-site rezoning and development applications 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 builders and 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 provides a vision for growth and change in an area and helps guide where certain development may be appropriate or not.

While Calgary’s population has been growing approximately 1.8 per cent every year since 1985, the peak population within 86 per cent of Calgary’s established communities has declined.

Population stability within established communities is essential to support local schools, businesses, services and infrastructure. Greater housing choice and diversity supports increased population and stabilization within Calgary’s established communities.

Expanding the types of homes that can be built is a great way to improve housing choice in a community naturally over time – in turn supporting population stability, local schools, businesses, services and infrastructure.

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 (calgary.ca/development). Affected parties can also appeal the approval of a development to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board.

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 (calgary.ca/development). The decision on a land use redesignation (rezoning) application is made by City Council, and a public hearing is held prior to the decision.

While a local area plan identifies and guides where and how future growth and change could happen within a specific area, it is property/landowners who decide if and when redevelopment happens on their property/land. If a property/landowner would like to redevelop their land, they are required to submit a planning application and go through a review process to ensure their application aligns with City policies such as the Municipal Development Plan, the Local Area Plan and other applicable City policies.

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.

No. The Plan won’t change land use zoning, but takes a balanced approach to support diverse housing options through policy. A variety of small-scale homes, including single detached, semi-detached, rowhouses and townhouses, are currently supported on any residential lot in the communities. Larger multi-residential homes are strategically concentrated in specific areas including near transit stations, community commercial areas and major roadways such as 36 Street SE and 8 Avenue SE.

We heard that providing quality homes that are diverse, accessible, and affordable is of utmost importance to the Greater Forest Lawn Communities. By expanding housing diversity, people of all income levels, ages, and cultural backgrounds will have the opportunity to live in the community and support local businesses, services, and amenities.

As we refined the plan and finalized the Urban Form and Building Scale maps, our colleagues modelled 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 that expected 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.

A key part of the local area plan is recognizing that public infrastructure and amenities need to support growth. Draft Chapter 3: Supporting Growth is dedicated to this issue and outlines the goals and policies that will guide supporting investment and implementation options in the Plan Area as growth and change occurs. Goals such as improving transportation and mobility, improving and expanding playground/park and public spaces, increasing safety and increasing affordable housing are included.

Those details are not in the scope of a 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 the proposed development.

The draft Plan supports high-quality transit infrastructure that integrates with new development (where feasible) to help reduce vehicle use within the Greater Forest Lawn Communities over time.    

Draft Chapter 2 includes policy direction on providing greater flexibility and forms of mobility such as pedestrian, cycling and transit as well as direction on the street network and community improvements were added to draft Chapter 3 to improve mobility connections and prioritize active use and transit investments. 

New development will have to address parking considerations mainly by including parking requirements on site that fit the development best and through other measures that can be initiated by the community.

Currently, 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 building 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.

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

Throughout the project, the project team shared what was heard, highlighted key themes raised, and provided responses for how key themes would 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/GFLplan.

Although it would be a great outcome, the goal of public engagement is not to reach consensus or make everyone happy. Public engagement is about considering the input, ideas and perspectives of those who are interested or impacted by decisions, before decisions are made. Participant input is an important part of local area planning but is only one of many areas of consideration. Other areas include: City policies, professional expertise, current context and trends, and equity, which all factor into the ultimate decision-making process and concept development.

Public input provided in each phase of the engagement process was compiled, reviewed and considered as each chapter of the local area plan was created. Review the Engagement Summary, What We Heard & What We Did reports from each phase of the project for additional detail about what was heard and how input was used.

A variety of opportunities for involvement were available through the process that aimed to accommodate a range of participation interests and intensities, as well as to remove barriers to participation. These included education and engagement booklets mailed directly to all homes and businesses in the area, large format signs in high-traffic areas, geo-targeted social media, banner, and YouTube ads, digital transit ads, an ethnic radio campaign, email updates to project subscribers as well as communication toolkits for local community associations and the local Councillor’s office. Multiple opportunities for in-person and online engagement were offered, in addition to targeted participant sessions.

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.

Local area plans are meant to be living documents that may be amended and updated over time as the community changes and evolves and as conditions and circumstances in the area change. City Council is the decision maker for all local area plan amendments.

No. Concerns with landlord and tenant relations are provincial jurisdiction and can be assisted and mediated through the Provincial Government Common problems – Landlords and tenants | Alberta.ca

Crime reduction and safety is a community effort involving many different approaches. Based on public input and ongoing discussions, the project team incorporated safety into the draft vision and core values of the Plan. There is policy in Chapters 2 and 3 to enhance safety in parks, open spaces and public transit and providing direction for buildings and exterior environments to incorporate Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Chapter 3 also provides policies that can help the GFL communities work with City partners and departments to ensure that the streets are patrolled, and bylaw concerns are addressed including unsightly properties, better maintenance for parks and public spaces, and increased police presence. 

Draft Chapter 2 contains policies that outline ways to enhance the redevelopment of parks, open spaces and recreation facilities. It also includes a specific section on trees in Chapter 3, related to new tree planting on public land, in boulevards and Parks, and the protection of existing trees. Chapter 3 also provides objectives and implementation options to upgrade recreational facilities and improve the functionality of existing parks and open spaces by prioritizing accessible, inclusive, and year-round active and passive recreation uses for people of all ages, cultures, and abilities.

On May 14, 2024, City Council voted to approve citywide rezoning with amendments. Additional information will be shared on Calgary.ca/RezoningforHousing as it becomes available.

The East Calgary International Avenue Communities Local Area Plan will be updated to ensure alignment with the citywide rezoning decisions. Specifically:

• Updates to the limited-scale policies are required. Local area plans must align with the rezoning decision and can no longer include policy that limits development to only single-detached or semi-detached homes.

• As a result of this Council direction, policy 2.2.1.6.b and 2.2.1.6.c have will be removed within the proposed version of the Plan that is shared with Committee and Council.

No local area plan map changes are required. No changes to urban form or building scale maps are required as they already align. The lowest urban form category (Neighbourhood Local) combined with the lowest building scale category (Limited) already supports all homes 3 storeys or under.