R-CG is a zoning code in the City of Calgary’s Land Use Bylaw describing the Residential – Grade-Oriented Infill[1] [[Land Use District]] within the Low-Density Residential section of the Bylaw. The acronym is generally understood to stand for “Residential, Contextual, Grade-oriented”.
On August 6th 2024, City Council’s decision on Rezoning for Housing took effect, making R-CG Calgary’s base residential zone in established communities, eliminating redundant zones from the Land Use Bylaw like R-C1 and R-C2.
The zone allows for residential development up to a density of 75 units per hectare in established communities, provided these buildings meet contextual building envelope requirements, and each unit is provided with a separate front entrance at ground level (i.e. no stacked units or apartment-style hallway construction).
It is most commonly used to redevelop land for rowhouse or townhouse buildings (lower-density missing middle housing forms) but supports a variety of “invisible density” housing forms as well.
History
R-CG was created in 2014 to provide established neighbourhoods with flexible steps in development intensity between R-C2 and M-CG.[2] It has since become a very popular choice for developers, counting nearly half of land use redesignation requests in 2023.
The move to R-CG as a base zone has been appraised as “ending exclusionary zoning” and enabling “missing middle” housing by advocates.[3]
See more
- [[More Neighbours Calgary]]
- [[Rezoning for Housing]]