2018-2019 Annual Report Highlight

The City of Calgary likes to engage residents and get them involved in its planning process. To that end, the City ensures every single community association in Calgary is given the relevant development applications and is asked for feedback but to be able to take part and provide that feedback, community associations need the right tools, education, and support to navigate the city’s “complex planning system.”

That’s why the Federation of Calgary Communities (FCC) developed “A Community Guide to the Planning Process” in 2008 with funding from AREF. Every year since the FCC has tweaked the document to keep it up to date but the time has come to rewrite it. FCC says: “it requires a complete overhaul because of the changes to statutory plans and processes being made by The City of Calgary.”

With $50,000 in funding from AREF, FCC is developing “The Guide to the Planning Process: Next Generation Planning”. The new guide will provide the reader with a basic understanding of planning’s policy context and legal framework; a clarification of the roles, rights and responsibilities of the many stakeholders involved in the process; include helpful information about reviewing planning applications; a description of the steps of the planning process; advice about running a planning committee operation; and a list of resources for more information. The Guide is also of value to the real estate industry because the City is looking at changing the land use designations and the land use bylaw.

The new guide, which was prepared with the cooperation of the City, will empower citizens and community volunteers by ensuring they have the right information and support to be involved in the City’s planning process. It also helps promote good working relationships among communities, applicants, City staff, and all the other players involved in the planning process.

Read the Alberta Real Estate Foundation’s full 2018-2019 Annual Report.