In a place known for having more red tape than the Russian national hockey team, Calgary city council passed a motion to get rid of red tape when it comes to new housing development. Council voted unanimously to allow construction of new townhome and rowhouse developments in new, developing communities, without first requiring a development permit. Ironically, the idea for the motion came from Mayor Jyoti Gondek’s chief of staff, Amie Blanchette, who came to work at city hall after spending a number of years in the new home building industry in Calgary. Townhomes are usually in smaller groupings, with rowhomes stretching entire blocks, streets and corner lots. The new bylaw aligns with the building and development processes for single and semi-detached buildings that are faster to construct and currently mean fewer rowhouses are built in developing communities. In its report to council recommending the motion, city administration said it would streamline the housing approval process, shortening the time frame to get more housing supply onto the market, at lower costs to home builders and lower prices for homebuyers. Now, all types of low-density residential development in developing communities will follow the same approval process, adding a wider range of housing options and resulting in an average time savings for applicants of three months, said the report, adding it will result in “the creation of more housing.” .Typically, an application for a development permit comes before applying for a building permit (the latter is still required by the city as a gauge of much infrastructure and other cities services will be needed at build out). Building Industry Land Development (BILD) Calgary Region and several home building companies gave the new bylaw their full support in letters sent to council. BILD is a non-profit organization that lobbies for members in all areas land development, redevelopment, residential, commercial and industrial construction. “Our membership includes builders, renovators, developers, trades, suppliers, engineering firms, architects, and other professional companies involved in the building industry,” reads the letter. “We advocate for affordability, choice, quality, and innovation in new and established communities.” BILD’S letter notes “Removing the requirement for a development permit will eliminate a significant barrier to constructing rowhomes in new, developing communities. The time and cost associated with the development permit process has been prohibitive, often discouraging developers and builders from pursuing this housing form.” “BILD believes that these amendments will achieve their intended outcomes without compromising quality. “ The letter goes on to say between $14,000 and $17,000 will be saved from the current red tape costs that include professional fees, carrying costs, and associated fees. (The city administration’s report says the federal Housing Accelerator Fund is supporting this project and covering the implementation costs.) .“These savings do not include additional costs associated with delays, legal fees, performance securities, or other discretionary requests, such as bus shelters, landscaping, and off-site upgrades, that are often added during the development permit process,” said BILD. A letter sent to council by Rohit Homes underlines how the old system of requiring a development permit added time and costs to construction. “At Rohit Homes, we have experienced firsthand how the current development permit requirement can delay the delivery of much-needed housing. For example, in the community of Belvedere, we submitted our development permit application on July 8, 2024, and received approval on March 27, 2025, a span of eight months,” reads the letter. “During this time, we were unable to proceed with full construction and instead had to begin under a partial building permit, which was approved on April 4, 2025. This forced us to delay our construction start by more than four months.” “Similarly, in the community of Heartwood, we submitted our development permit application on November 20, 2024, and as of today (May 13, 2025), the permit has not yet been issued.” “The removal of the requirement for a development permit does not compromise the quality nor oversight of new housing,” says the city administration's report. “Built form regulations remain in place through existing land use districts and outline plan design and the building permit process continues to ensure code compliance and construction standards.” .“This has been a long time coming and members of industry have told us for quite some time that it would be much better if we didn’t have to do (development permits) on rowhouses,” said Gondek, immediately after the vote. “There was obviously a reason and rationale from administration, (but) I’m glad we could sort this out.”
