The Nose Creek Area Structure Plan
In June 2024, The City of Calgary’s Local Area Planning Team began the process of creating a new Area Structure Plan (ASP) for the lands currently known as the “Nose Creek Lands.”
ABOUT THE PROJECT
A new Nose Creek Area Structure Plan (ASP) will provide for the local area planning of 675 hectares (1,668 acres) in Calgary's northeast. This policy document will provide the vision, goals and core principles that will shape the future stages of development. It will guide land use patterns, transportation and utility networks and implement the broad planning objectives of the Municipal Development Plan, Calgary Transportation Plan and other relevant regional and city-wide policies and strategies.
This process will include the scoping and review of numerous technical reports and analysis evaluating everything from population and employment forecasts to archeology and biophysical inventory. It will identify lands of environmental significance and demonstrate through the location of pathways, parks and streets how its future residents and employees will be able to move, relax and play.
The outcome of all of this work will inform future growth strategies, identify the need for any Capital investments and provide for a sequencing of development.
A Land Use Concept will be developed that will show where all the higher ordered elements of a complete community should locate. It will contain the approximate location and type of facilities and amenities such as schools, neighbourhood activity centres, and industrial hubs.
The City will be using the concept of a complete community to guide the new area structure plan for Nose Creek lands.
FAQs
Frequently-Asked Questions
An Area Structure Plan (ASP) is a long-term policy document and the first step in developing a greenfield into a complete community. Creating an ASP will include making decisions on land use, transportation systems, number of homes, jobs, sequence of development, and essential services and facilities. This development happens over a long time, typically from 20 to 30 years.
The Nose Creek Area Structure Plan (ASP) was included on The City’s 2023-2026 work plan to “explore a mix of uses without compromising industrial importance”. Calgary has changed since the existing Nose Creek Area Structure Plan (ASP) was approved in 2015.
Here are some reasons why we are creating a new plan:
- Outdated Plan: the existing Nose Creek ASP no longer aligns with our modernized policy framework. A new plan will align to land use policies that are being renewed to better respond to the needs of Calgarians.
- New constraints and opportunities: Since 2015, many plan influences have changed that will shape the future development of the lands, including:
- New balance of uses: While the existing plan was largely industrial, creating a new plan helps us to reconsider the overall balance and location of residential communities and industrial districts to meet Calgarian’s future employment needs.
- changes to restrictions to development around the Calgary International Airport,
- changing market conditions and shifts in economic trends,
- changes to the operating status of Oil and Gas Infrastructure,
- guidelines for development around Freight Rail Corridors,
- more information about Known Historic Resource Sites, and
- the recently initiated Nose Creek Park Strategy.
- Parks and open spaces: The new ASP will explore ways to improve connectivity between neighbourhoods, parks and open spaces while preserving natural areas through an integrated network.
We are at the beginning of the ASP development process, which we call the “Envision Phase” and no Land Use Concept has been developed yet. The Land Use Concept will set the general land use typologies.
A complete community is a fully developed area that meets the needs of local residents through an entire lifetime and provides a physical and social space where residents and visitors can live, learn, work and play.
Complete communities include a full range of housing, employment, recreational, institutional and public spaces.
Calgary and Rocky View County share a municipal boundary along Highway 568 and Highway 2. Following higher-order Intermunicipal policy, we will co-operate with Rocky View County Administration during ASP development. Working with all interested parties, including Rocky View County, is good planning practice.
Yes. The City of Calgary has a long-established framework for the creation of Area Structure Plans. Commonly referred to as the ‘Developer-Funded Model’, this framework allows developer or landowner to apply to The City to create a new development plan for greenfield sites. All costs for the plan development are charged back to the developer or landowner. They are often the sole or majority landowner within the area being considered for plan development.
PROJECT TIMELINE
PROJECT AREA MAP
GET INVOLVED
Feedback provided by participants helps shape the ASP as it is created.
Input provided by participants helps the project team understand perspectives, opinions and concerns throughout all phases of the project. Input collected in each phase of the project helps influence and inform the concepts and policies that are created and refined throughout the process. Throughout the project, the project team will share what was heard, highlight the key themes raised, and provide responses for how key themes are addressed and considered.
Participant input is an important part of the ASP process, but is 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.
