Downtown policy and regulation
Downtown policy and regulation
Proposed Amendments to the Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan: Parts 1 & 2, Chinatown Area Redevelopment Plan & Land Use Bylaw 1P2007 Centre City Districts
This project is being advanced by Downtown Strategy to support a more predictable, contemporary and outcome-focused policy framework for the greater downtown communities. By amending these Area Redevelopment Plans, this work will help implement the vision for the greater downtown by supporting high-quality development while strengthening economic resilience though clearer regulation and providing policy tools that better align with market conditions and community expectations.
Background
Beltline Area Redevelopment Plans: Parts 1 and 2
The Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP) was adopted by City Council on May 15, 2006. Council later amended the ARP on April 29, 2019, to include a new Part 2 to facilitate development of a Culture and Entertainment District along with the Rivers District Master Plan (RDMP).
Council directed Administration to proceed with amendments to Part 1 of the Beltline ARP at that time. Over the last 20 years, Beltline has experienced significant growth, transforming into an increasingly vibrant and diverse community. Part 2 of the Beltline ARP was amended in 2019 to support the realization of a Master Plan vision to create a culture and entertainment district in Calgary. A number of new projects contribute to the need for further ARP amendments, including the new Greater Downtown Plan, the 17 Avenue South extension project and the future arrival of the Green Line.
Chinatown Area Redevelopment Plan
Tomorrow’s Chinatown was a Council-directed multi-year program comprised of three project deliverables: the Chinatown Cultural Plan, a culturally-informed Chinatown Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP) and the renaming of the former James Short Park and Parkade.
As a first-of-its-kind program for The City, Tomorrow’s Chinatown employed a “planning culturally” approach as identified in the Cultural Plan for Calgary. Planning culturally requires inclusive community consultation and decision making to identify cultural attributes, character and resources that can help a community achieve its civic goals. In taking this approach, it was the aim of the program to support Chinatown’s future as a vibrant, culturally-rich place to live, visit, work and do business.
The Chinatown Cultural Plan provides strategic direction for advancing and investing in Chinatown’s cultural future, including: cultural experiences and programs; spaces, facilities and amenities; and legacy businesses and tourism. It provides guidance for setting priorities, forming partnerships, assigning roles, and securing resources. The Chinatown Area Redevelopment Plan is a statutory document that sets out a comprehensive planning vision with policies to guide future redevelopment and investment in the plan area. It seeks to ensure new developments integrate cultural considerations that reinforce Chinatown’s unique identity.
Proposed Land Use Bylaw 1P2007 Amendments
The Centre City Districts in Part 11 of Land Use Bylaw 1P2007 apply to the entire Beltline community and fall within the Greater Downtown Plan boundary. The proposed amendments affect the four Centre City Districts and the Rules Governing Centre City Bonus Overlays, Division 7. The proposed land use amendments align the Land Use Bylaw with the proposed Beltline ARP density and related bonusing provisions.
Study areas
Proposed Amendments
1. Increasing the maximum floor area along 17 Avenue, east of 4 Street S.W.: This amendment proposes increasing the floor area for parcels on 17 Avenue, east of 4 Street S.W. to enable additional density at key locations and better align the density areas with the recently approved West Elbow Local Area Plan, which allows for up to 26-storey development on the south side of 17 Avenue. The proposed changes will also improve alignment with recent site-specific floor area increases approved through development applications. This amendment applies to Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan: Part 1. See map note 2.
2. Increasing the floor area along a portion of 17 Avenue to enable 6-storey wood-frame construction: This amendment proposes increasing the floor area maximum for section of 17 Avenue S.W. between 7 Street S.W. and 12 Street S.W. to align new construction typologies. The Alberta Building Code has been amended to allow for 6-storey wood-frame developments, and the proposed floor area increase will enable this new construction typology. This amendment applies to Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan: Part 1. See map note 2.
3. Exempting parking structures from floor area calculations adjacent to the downtown freight rail corridor: This amendment proposes a floor area exemption of up to a maximum of 2.0 floor area ratio for sites located along the downtown freight rail corridor. Due to their proximity to the downtown freight rail corridor, there are additional regulatory considerations for new development on adjacent sites, including sound attenuation rules. These regulations necessitate the need for parking structures for new development to be located above grade, instead of below grade. All above grade components of a development are calculated in a density calculation, which results in development adjacent to the rail corridor not being able to realize their full development potential. This amendment applies to Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan: Part 1 and Part 2. See map note 3.
a. Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan: Part 1 - Map 3: Land Use Concept (proposed amendment):
b. Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan: Part 2 – Map 4: Land Use Concept (Proposed Amendment)
4. Amendments to support heritage initiatives: This amendment proposes textual changes to improve the implementation of heritage density bonusing provisions by allowing density to be transferred to another location on a development site. Currently, density must be transferred from one site to another. This amendment applies to Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan: Part 1 and Part 2 and Chinatown Area Redevelopment Plan. See map note 4.
5. Amendments to fix various textual errors: This amendment proposes correction of multiple textual errors where the wrong table is being referenced in the document. This amendment applies to Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan: Part 1. See map note 5.
Next steps
The City is informing community groups and industry members and collecting feedback about the proposed amendments. A summary of the targeted outreach will be included in the reports to Committee and Council later this year.
The project team will review the internal and external feedback from community groups and industry members and will work towards preparing a final version of these draft amendments to be presented to Calgary Planning Commission in July 2026 for recommendation to Council for a Public Hearing in September 2026.
Timeline