Growth Applications are how The City evaluates and enables growth opportunities as part of the Citywide Growth Strategy, helping to ensure that new community growth happens in the right place at the right time. A Growth Application is not a plan or a permit. It is an evaluation process established by The City to review and make decisions on new community growth and associated capital and operating investments.
All new community developments require approval through a Growth Application before proceeding to Land Use and the rest of the development process.
A Growth Application can only be made once the related Area Structure Plan is approved, but applicants are encouraged to submit a Growth Application concurrently with a related Outline Plan.
Evaluation of Growth Applications and the development of recommendations to Infrastructure and Planning Committee can be complex and iterative processes. Review of development scenarios, servicing capacity and timing, and operating cost may require five to eight months ahead of an Infrastructure and Planning Committee meeting, particularly if adjustments to applications or alternative approaches to servicing are part of the conversation. While the window for accepting applications is continuously open, bringing any requests for capital infrastructure and/or operating investment into the budget prioritization process requires direction from Council towards the end of the second quarter of each year. Given these factors, please connect with the team informally, or through a growth pre-application assessment at your convenience to learn more.
| GA2023-001 | |
|---|---|
| GA2023-001: Community: | Providence |
| GA2023-001: Total area (hectares): | 445 |
| GA2023-001: Total units: | 9,600 |
| GA2023-001: Outline plan: | LOC2022-0225 |
| GA2023-003 | |
|---|---|
| GA2023-003: Community: | Prairiesong |
| GA2023-003: Total area (hectares): | 102 |
| GA2023-003: Total units: | 2,400 |
| GA2023-003: Outline plan: | n/a |
| GA2023-004 | |
|---|---|
| GA2023-004: Community: | Hotchkiss |
| GA2023-004: Total area (hectares): | 58 |
| GA2023-004: Total units: | 1,300 |
| GA2023-004: Outline plan: | n/a |
| GA2023-005 | |
|---|---|
| GA2023-005: Community: | Glacier D Panorama Road Jayman |
| GA2023-005: Total area (hectares): | 59 |
| GA2023-005: Total units: | 1,500 |
| GA2023-005: Outline plan: | LOC2023-0316 |
| GA2023-006 | |
|---|---|
| GA2023-006: Community: | West View Qualico Crestmont |
| GA2023-006: Total area (hectares): | 79 |
| GA2023-006: Total units: | 1,800 |
| GA2023-006: Outline plan: | LOC2020-0080 |
| GA2024-001 | |
|---|---|
| GA2024-001: Community: | Belvedere Liberty Stage 2 |
| GA2024-001: Total area (hectares): | 16 |
| GA2024-001: Total units: | 500 |
| GA2024-001: Outline plan: | LOC2024-0016 |
| GA2024-002 | |
|---|---|
| GA2024-002: Community: | Glacier Ridge A North Qualico |
| GA2024-002: Total area (hectares): | 111 |
| GA2024-002: Total units: | 2,500 |
| GA2024-002: Outline plan: | n/a |
| GA2024-003 | |
|---|---|
| GA2024-003: Community: | West View Melcor |
| GA2024-003: Total area (hectares): | 91 |
| GA2024-003: Total units: | 2,400 |
| GA2024-003: Outline plan: | n/a |
Oct. 17, 2023: City Council has approved an adjustment to Growth Application fees. The adjustment reduces fees on smaller applications (up to 16 hectares in area). The fees for applications over 16 ha in size have not been changed. See the Submit your application section on this page for more details. Aug. 1, 2023: Growth Applications are now being accepted, and we’ve created a new page to support applicants. This page contains information to guide you through the process; before, during and after you apply. Check back as we’ll be continuing to add reference documents and information to the page.
The following sections will walk you through the stages of the Growth Application process.
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The first step in considering a Growth Application is to review the Growth Application Evaluation Criteria and consider what amenities, infrastructure, and policy are in place around the property, and what might be missing. See below for documents and maps with relevant infrastructure, amenity, and policy information.
What is this information?
This section compiles contextual infrastructure, amenity, and policy information relevant to potential new community growth in Calgary. It is provided here to help applicants decide whether to proceed with a pre-application discussion for a new community Growth Application.
How can it be used?
The information on this page is intended to be used in combination with the Growth Application Evaluation Criteria to consider what amenities, infrastructure, and policy are in place around an applicant’s property, and what might be missing, before proceeding with a pre-application discussion for a new community Growth Application.
All of the information on this page is subject to change at any time, including immediately after publication. The information provided here cannot replace a pre-application discussion, nor can it be used to make any legal decision or any decision regarding land development or any other business. Additional and updated information will be made available to applicants during the pre-application discussion and subsequent stages in the new community Growth Application process.
The City of Calgary provides this information in good faith but it provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability from any incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or its improper use. Information and numbers are current as of the indicated date for each figure and document.
For more information, please contact us at newcommunity@calgary.ca.
Tools to provide a summary overview of contextual infrastructure information are currently under development, and will be available here on release.
This map shows existing services and amenities relevant to potential new community growth in Calgary. It is provided here to help applicants decide whether to proceed with a pre-application discussion for a new community Growth Application.
The following documents each contain additional information relevant to new community Growth Applications. Applicants are encouraged to consult these documents before proceeding with a pre-application discussion.
One key aspect of the Financial Impact criteria is the consideration of projected operating costs and generated revenue. The impact is determined by using The City’s New Community Incremental Operating Cost Model (“the Model”), with this report specifically addressing previous Council direction to provide
Council with more detailed reporting on the inputs and assumptions used in the Model.
Published September 8, 2023
This document, also known as the Funding Approval Current Status document (FACS), shows which infrastructure investments were approved by Council for the current business cycle in November 2022, and the extent of the approval. These approvals used the 2023-2026 Citywide Growth Investment Portfolio as guidance, following Council direction from July 2022 (through report IP2022-0545, Attachment 5 and 6).
Published June 7, 2023
The 2022 Citywide Growth Strategy Monitoring Report provides Council, Calgarians, developers, builders and internal partners with current citywide growth-related data and analysis, as well as progress updates from decisions made in 2022 and previous years
Published October 16, 2023
The Suburban Residential Growth Report (SRG) provides key information on the dynamics of Calgary’s new community housing market and specifically looks at existing land supply for residential growth over the next five years. It provides an in depth analysis of the developing areas broken down by sector including information on servicing status and requirements, near term forecasted growth patterns, total planned land supply capacity and categories of the planned land supply: growth management overlay in place, approved – yet to be serviced and approved - serviced land.
Published January 18, 2022
The purpose of the Long Range Financial Plan (LRFP) is to provide a plan to deal with the 10-year financial challenges facing The City beyond the current Service Plans and Budgets cycle, to progress toward long-term financial sustainability and resilience. The 2021-2032 Long Range Financial Plan is a thorough strategic plan based on projections of The City’s operating and capital requirements for ten years, on top of the current four-year budget cycle, extending to 2032. The plan manages changes by identifying emerging risks and providing corresponding financial strategies.
Published October 20, 2022
One of several useful Corporate Project and Asset Management resources, the Corporate Asset Management Plan (CAMP) is a long-term plan created to manage infrastructure and help to ensure The City is meeting service levels and mitigating risk.
Published July 4, 2023
The Off-site Levy is one of several funding sources that contributes to covering the costs of the infrastructure needed to support communities. The Off-site Levy Annual Report 2022 provides information on levies collected and spent, along with any remaining balances available for future capital investment.
Due to the complex and sometimes controversial nature of Growth Applications, pre-application enquiries are recommended. They can help highlight major issues with the proposal, provide updated contextual information, and identify additional technical information that will be required with the formal application.
To request a pre-application discussion, email newcommunity@calgary.ca. There is no fee for pre-application enquiries for Growth Applications.
If you are submitting your Growth Application concurrently with a related Outline Plan you may request a single pre-application discussion for both applications.
The steps to submit your Growth Application are as follows:
2. Review the following documents:
1) In person via Cheque, credit card, cash at: Planning Services Counter
3rd Floor Calgary Municipal Building
800 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary AB
8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday - Friday 2) By mail/courier addressed to:
Canada Post
The City of Calgary
Planning Cashiers (MC#8108)
PO Box 2100, Station ‘M’
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 2M5
Courier or In-Person
The City of Calgary
Planning Cashiers (MC#8108)
3rd Floor
800 Macleod Trail SE Calgary, Alberta
T2G 2M3
3) By Phone (only available by credit card): In order to make payment over the phone by credit card please call 403-268-5417. 4) Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT): If you would like to pay by Electronic Funds Transfer, please send an email to planning.cash@calgary.ca requesting to pay by EFT. Make sure to reference your Growth Application number in your email. We will reply with payment information in the order your email was received.
After you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email with a Job Access Code (JAC), and a file manager will be assigned to support you through the rest of the process. To track your application and check its status, enter your Job Access Code in Vista.
The Growth Application evaluation team will review your application against the qualifying criteria in the Growth Application Evaluation Criteria to evaluate whether the application merits recommendation for consideration through the Service Plans and Budgets process. If your Growth Application is not yet ready for recommendation, the team will provide comments to support you in refining and resubmitting it. To ensure that applicants and their Growth Applications are as prepared as possible before proceeding to Infrastructure and Planning Committee, the Growth Application evaluation team will support as many rounds of evaluation and refinement as required for a given Growth Application, and there is no additional fee for resubmission of amended applications during this part of the process.
The development of any new community Growth Application requires some combination of capital and operating investment from The City, and so the decision whether to fund those associated investments is the final approval decision for Growth Applications. Once the Growth Application evaluation team determines that your Growth Application meets the qualifying criteria in the Growth Application Evaluation Criteria, the team will recommend that the investments associated with your application be considered through The City’s Service Plans and Budgets process. This recommendation must first be brought to Infrastructure and Planning Committee (IPC), who will decide whether to bring the recommendation to Council, who will decide whether your Growth Application proceeds for further consideration. Growth Applications which do not proceed at this stage may be resubmitted through the beginning of the Growth Application process, and may be eligible for a reduced application fee on resubmission (see the 2023 Land Use Amendment Fee Schedule, which includes fees for Growth Applications for more information).
Through the Service Plans and Budgets process, Administration prepares proposed services plans and budgets, or proposed adjustments to Service Plans and Budgets. Then, every November, Council deliberates and makes the final decisions on these proposals. If the capital and operating investments associated with your Growth Application are supported through the Service Plans and Budgets process and approved by Council, your Growth Application is considered approved, and it may proceed to Land Use Amendment and the rest of the development process. Growth Applications whose associated investments are not approved may be resubmitted through the beginning of the Growth Application process, and may be eligible for a reduced application fee on resubmission (see the 2023 Land Use Amendment Fee Schedule, which includes fees for Growth Applications for more information).
