Next 20: Municipal Development Plan & Calgary Transportation Plan review


PROJECT UPDATE – February 2021

On February 8, 2021 Council approved the 2020 Municipal Development Plan and Calgary Transportation Plan. This concludes the Next 20 project. For more information on the plans please visit Calgary.ca/MDPCTP.


FINDINGS OF THE REVIEW

The first stages of the Next 20 project set out to identify areas where the Municipal Development Plan and Calgary Transportation Plan were working well, and how the Plans might be improved going forward. This work included:

  • Best practice reviews of land use and transportation plans from across the world.
  • A multi-pronged engagement approach that included gaining feedback from subject matter experts, key stakeholders and the public.
  • A forecast analysis of the 14 core indicators to evaluate their performance over the life of the plans.
  • An update of the “Implications of Alternative Growth Patterns on Infrastructure Costs” study completed in 2009 by IBI Group, referred to as the “Cost of Growth” study.

If you’re interested in learning more about our review findings, please read our State of the City report (14MB). A supplemental report detailing the savings from a more compact urban form is also available.

A summary of other initiatives, policies and plans that address some of the feedback that we heard from stakeholders during engagement was also prepared. Learn more about how these other initiatives, polices and plans are connected to the MDP and CTP by reading our summary document.

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS

Guided by the review findings and the revised scope, the project team identified revisions for the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and the Calgary Transportation Plan (CTP). To help Calgarians provide feedback on the proposed changes we created a Summary of Proposed Revisions document, it has been updated using stakeholder feedback. The detailed text and figure changes that we proposed can be found in the MDP Redline document and CTP Redline document. The redline documents show the text and figure recommendations for deletion, revision and addition to both Plans. They incorporate feedback from stakeholders where appropriate.

We also proposed making the CTP a statutory document. Read our rationale here.

Please note that Volume 2 of the MDP will remain unchanged as a result of this review.

The 2020 MDP and CTP received the first reading of the bylaw by Council on November 2, 2020. They were then reviewed by the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board for alignment with the Interim Growth Plan.

On February 8, 2021, Council approved the second and third reading of the bylaw. The 2020 MDP and CTP are now in effect.

PROJECT SCOPE CHANGE

The Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and Calgary Transportation Plan (CTP) are Calgary’s long-range land use and transportation plans that look 60 years into the future. Our city has changed since these plans were developed in 2009. We’ve reviewed these plans to identify what policies need to be updated or changed to make life better for Calgarians. At the meeting of Council on July 22 and July 23, 2019, Council reduced the scope of several projects, including the MDP and CTP review (Package 14 in Attachment 3 of the report).

In response to Council’s direction to reduce the scope of the project, The Next 20 project team revised the project scope. The revised scope of the MDP and CTP Review and Update will:

  • Focus on critical amendments and housekeeping only. Housekeeping includes updates to language and data. Critical amendments include incorporating previously approved Council direction into the MDP and CTP as needed.
  • Engage with targeted stakeholders (i.e., focus group participants) as needed, for the remainder of the project.
  • Maintain two separate Plans.

The project team prepared proposed amendments for the MDP and CTP. While the amendments may look significant, they focused on updating language, data and incorporating previous Council policy. A more in-depth review and amendments will be completed during the next update to the plans.


THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING YOUR INPUT

Thank you for participating in this project. There will be no future engagement as this project is now complete.

HOW IS MY INPUT USED?

Engagement is about collecting ideas and input into a decision making process. The steps below describe why each stage of this project was important, and how your input was used.

When: March 1 to April 8, 2019

What: Develop a set of goals that will guide our focus for the next 20 years. Public engagement input was used to refine what makes a great city, and specific stakeholder engagement was used to understand trends and policy needs as we moved forward.

Why it matters: We needed to make sure that any options and policies we made were in line with what is happening in Calgary, and with what Calgarians want to see for their city.

How this information was used: Your feedback, along with trends from key groups, gave us a reference point for what needed to be refined. It provided criteria, or goals, we used throughout engagement to assess how we were doing with policy recommendations.

When: End of April - mid May 2019

What: Now that we know what is needed, what will it take to get us there? What trade-offs should we consider in the many outcomes our plans are trying to achieve? What range of options and actions should we consider? In this stage we talked about the benefits, impacts, constraints and trade-offs needed to reach our vision of Calgary in 20 years.

Why it matters: We can't do it all. The City needs to plan with the well-being and needs of all Calgarians in mind. In this stage, we got together to discuss ways that trade-offs can be made between the different values identified in Stage 1.

How this information will be used: This step was critical in helping us to understand, refine and create options for policy recommendation. Ideas from this stage were reviewed, collated and incorporated into the proposed amendments where appropriate.

When: November 2020 – February 2021

What: Administration took a report with recommendations on what revisions are needed and how the plan will look in the future.

Why it matters: This recommendation updated the two key policy documents that guide the decisions made by Council and Administration.

How the information will be used: Council considered and approved the recommendations within the report.

BACKGROUND

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Great cities don't happen by accident. The city we experience today – our homes, work places, shops, parks, public transit, roads and sidewalks and pathways are a result of decades of planning today for tomorrow.

The Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and the Calgary Transportation Plan (CTP) help organize life in the city, providing policy and direction to guide decision making. These decisions shape how our city grows and how people will live and travel in the future.

Our long-range plans make sure City staff, communities, developers, business owners, citizens and Council are working to build a great city, together.

MDP and CTP 2018 Monitoring Progress Report

Every four years The City reports on the progress made towards our 60-year goals. The most recent report is the MDP/CTP 2018 Monitoring Progress Report. View the report to see how we're making progress on our plans.

Background documents

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

KEY PROJECTS THAT GOT US TO TODAY

Below are the most significant milestones that paved the way for the MDP and CTP Review. Many small, medium and large projects; research; engagement opportunities and policies The City works on every day have also contributed. Click on “Learn more” to see details.
  • Timeline item 1 - complete

    2005 – 2006: imagineCalgary

    • 18,000 Calgarians create a 100-year vision for sustainable growth in Calgary.

    Learn more.

  • Timeline item 2 - complete

    2008 - 2009: PlanIt Calgary

    • Over 6,000 Calgarians provide input on a 60-year plan to accommodate over 1 million new people.
    • Focus on land use, development, and transportation changes to build up and out and improve travelling by walking, cycling, taking transit, and driving.

    Learn more.

  • Timeline item 3 - complete

    2009: Municipal Development Plan (MDP) & Calgary Transportation Plan (CTP)

    • Creation of Calgary’s long-range land use and transportation plans that help shape how our communities grow, develop and evolve over time.

    Learn more about the MDP and CTP.

  • Timeline item 4 - complete

    2019 – 2022: One Calgary - Service Plans and Budgets

    • The City develops service plans and budgets for 2019-2022 to deliver on the services you value in your community.
    • First service based budgets and plans for Calgary.

    Learn more.

WHAT IS ENGAGEMENT AT The City of Calgary?

Your input, and the input of other citizens and stakeholders, helps The City understand people’s perspectives, opinions, and concerns. Input collected in each phase of the project will be compiled and share through a What We Heard report.

Although it would be a great outcome, the goal of public engagement is not to reach consensus or make everyone happy. Public engagement is also not about voting or collecting representative information. Public engagement is about considering the input, ideas and perspectives of people who are interested or impacted by decisions, before decisions are made.

To learn more about engagement at The City, visit engage.calgary.ca/about.


PAST ENGAGEMENT STAGE 1

Stage 1 of engagement was designed to learn more about what Calgarians feel are important qualities of a great city, what qualities are most important to them specifically, and how their experience of moving through the city can be improved. To learn more about what we heard please review the What We Heard reports for the online survey and in-person events.


PAST ENGAGEMENT STAGE 2

Stage 2 of engagement built on what we learned in Stage 1 about what qualities are important for a great city and how we can make Calgary better. We asked Calgarians to tell us how important these qualities are to the future of Calgary and the degree of progress they would like to see The City make in these areas. To learn more about what we heard from Calgarians please review the Stage 2 What We Heard