The City of Calgary Zoning Bylaw (abbr. ZBL) is a work-in-progress document expected to be completed for a Public Hearing Meeting of Council in early 2026.[1] When enacted, it will replace the Land Use Bylaw as the City of Calgary’s governing [[land use]] document.
History
The Zoning Bylaw drafting process began alongside the [[Calgary Plan]] and [[Street Manual]] as part of the City of Calgary’s [[City Building program]] in late 2023. This program seeks to modernize the City of Calgary’s governing documents by simplifying them for accessibility, and better integrating them toward a common vision.
Zone Purpose Statements were released for public consumption alongside Phase 2 of the City Building program on January 29, 2024. Revealing that the Zoning Bylaw would seek to consolidate similar zones, simplifying the document from 64 zones to 21.[2]
An early draft of the Zoning Bylaw released for public engagement on September 23, 2024.[1]
Structure
As of early 2024, the Zoning Bylaw sorts 21 zones into 6 categories.[2]
The Housing (H), Mixed Use (MU), Core (C), Commercial (CM), and Industrial (I) categories each contain 3 zones, varying between low, medium, and high-intensity forms; while the Special Purpose (SP) category contains 5 zones for various types of public resources like infrastructure, schools, or parks.
For example, low-density residential zones like [[R-CG]], R-G, or R-2M will fall under the [[H-1]] zone.
Analysis
Merging zones allows more flexibility between forms of development without requiring Zoning Redesignation, and is expected to integrate many properties that are currently under a Direct Control (DC) agreement.
The highest intensity Housing zone (H-3) limits development to 6 storeys, which would necessitate development above this threshold to consider mixed-use development through Mixed Use or Core zones.
See also
List of Zoning Bylaw proposed zones
List of Zoning Bylaw proposed land uses
List of Land Use Bylaw districts
Direct Control