Council orders zoning-aligned plan amendments

Summary#

Council adopted Councillor Chabot’s revised notice of motion on May 26, 2026, by a vote of 13 to 2. It directs City staff to amend Local Area Plans approved after blanket zoning was introduced, and to report on a review of parts of the Chinook Communities Local Area Plan. The notice’s stated goal is to bring these plans into line with the change in citywide zoning policy.

  • The amendments must support one- or two-unit homes in Neighbourhood Local, Limited Scale areas. Secondary suites count only where the existing land-use designation already allows them, and do not count as a unit under the listed policies.
  • Three-or-more-unit buildings should be supported on parcels with rear lanes in specified locations: transit station Core or Transition Zones; Main Streets or parcels separated from them by a lane; corner parcels; or parcels near a school, park or open space larger than 0.5 hectares, with no dimension under 25 metres.
  • Those larger buildings should complement the surrounding area and consider effects on sunlight, shade, lot coverage, setbacks, and existing healthy trees or landscaping, where appropriate.
  • City staff must bring the amendments to Council by Q4 2026. They must also report by Q1 2027, through Infrastructure and Planning Committee, on the scope of a Chinook plan review covering specified parts of Elbow Drive SW, 38 Avenue SW and 38A Avenue SW.
  • Staff must run an “inform only” exercise about the proposed amendments for six plans: North Hill, East Calgary International Avenue Communities, Riley Communities, South Shaganappi Communities, Chinook Communities and West Elbow Communities.

What it means for you#

  • Residents and property owners: The May 26 decision does not itself change zoning, approve construction, or amend any Local Area Plan. It directs later changes that may affect how those plans guide development.
  • People in the six named plan areas: Staff must inform the public about proposed amendments. The motion does not require this exercise to collect feedback.
  • People in parts of Chinook: Staff must prepare a scoping report that includes public consultation, possible adjustments, and the cost and resources for the review. This is a report about the review’s scope, not the review itself.

Money#

No cost information is in the available material.

  • The motion directs City staff to do the work but gives no budget or staffing allocation. The Chinook scoping report must include cost and resource information.

What is unclear#

  • The supplied material does not include the current Land Use Bylaw or the Local Area Plans, so the exact current rules and how the amendments would change each plan could not be verified.
  • The motion does not list every plan covered by “those Local Area Plans” approved after blanket zoning. It names six plans for the information exercise, but does not say these are the only plans to be amended.
  • It does not explain how the inform-only exercise will work, or how public input could affect the amendments.
  • The motion gives policy directions but does not define “low-density limited scale” beyond the listed rules.

Case for#

  • The notice’s stated rationale is that some plans approved after blanket zoning removed single- and semi-detached building forms, and the plans need to align with the revised zoning.
  • The rules would support one- and two-unit homes while identifying locations where larger buildings should be supported, including near transit, main streets and community facilities.
  • The motion directs a Chinook scoping report to consider public consultation, adjustments, costs and resources before the review proceeds.

Case against#

  • The motion directs plan amendments before the Chinook scoping report is due, so the material does not show how that report’s findings will shape the amendments.
  • The public exercise for the six named plans is for information, not consultation; the motion does not require staff to gather or respond to public feedback on those amendments.
  • Councillors Dhaliwal and Kelly voted against the motion, but the supplied material does not state their reasons.

Votes

Calgary City Council, item 9.4.6 (Notice of Motion - Local Area Plan Review to Reintroduce Limited Scale, EC2026-0427): That with respect to Revised Notice of Motion EC2026-0427, the following be adopted: NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Council direct Administration to conduct a scoping report to initiate a review of the Chinook Communities Local Area Plan which was approved after citywide zoning implementation and, AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the scoping report anticipate a review of the Chinook Communities…

For (87%)
Against (13%)

Executive Committee, item 5.2.4 (Notice of Motion - Local Area Plan Review to Reintroduce Limited Scale, EC2026-0427): That with respect to Notice of Motion EC2026-0427, the following be approved: That the Executive Committee forward this Notice of Motion to the 2026 May 26 Regular Meeting of Council for consideration.

For (92%)
Against (8%)