At least nine more applications for new communities on Calgary’s outskirts will be up for a decision by city council this year, according to city officials.
In a briefing document to city councillors, administration noted there were nine applications in various stages of review on top of four new communities approved by council last year.
“Administration is aware of several imminent growth application submissions beyond these, as well,” the brief said.
According to city administration, new community housing starts are at a “record high,” with construction started on more than 12,000 homes in 2023, an additional 12,000 homes in various stages of development in 2024 across more than 40 new communities actively under construction.
“The growth applications are really industry’s commitment to address the housing affordability issue by adding housing supply,” said Brian Hahn, president of BILD Calgary.
“They’re really things that have to move forward given the attractiveness of our community and the demand for housing here.”
There is currently enough serviced land supply on the city’s outskirts to accommodate more than 82,000 new homes, which is the equivalent of between seven to nine years of housing supply, the briefing note said.
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Including the four new communities approved by council last year, its estimated there is enough land that is yet-to-be serviced for an additional 56,000 homes.
However, council approving growth applications on unserviced land comes with a cost, noted Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott.
“How many of these can we fit in where we can afford the capital costs? That’s the question,” Walcott said. “Sprawl has always been about can we afford the upfront costs to service that community.”
Last year alone, city council allocated an initial investment of more than $81 million for water, sanitary, transit and mobility in the four newly-approved communities.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in additional capital funding will be required as those communities are developed, but the city noted tax revenue, off-site levies and grants from other levels of government are the main sources of funding.
Building outward has been an ongoing concern in Calgary, with the city’s Municipal Development Plan calling for a goal of half of total development on the outskirts and half in established areas.
Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness said she believes building outward continues to be the most feasible option available to build more housing to accommodate the city’s surging population.
“The fastest place to get people housed is in greenfield because you don’t have the opposition,” Wyness said.
According to Walcott, there are opportunities to achieve a better balance between outward development and redevelopment in the inner city, but it comes with challenges.
“When these growth applications for the inner city and established areas come, and they are the ones that are going to help alleviate the necessity and the need for further sprawl, council defeats them, and then utilizes that argument for housing in a different area,” Walcott said.
Walcott pointed to council’s recent decision to not approve the zoning to kick-start a large residential development at the Glenmore Landing shopping complex as an example.
“The densest communities that are build in Calgary are the new communities, given the planning and development metrics that the city applies to them,” Hahn told Global News. “The new communities that are being built are complete communities with the amenities people need close to their homes.”
The new growth applications are expected to be before city council in the coming months, but a final decision will come during budget deliberations in November when council must find the operating and capital money to cover the upfront costs.
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