The City's ​​Planning & Development Services department is about building Calgary for everyone. We’re gathering feedback, examining great ideas and removing roadblocks to support Calgarians and development in our city.

Keep up with the latest news in Planning & Development Services – subscribe to our Dispatch newsletter, and see our Timeline Commitments.

Inspections Booking System - We’ve improved our Inspections Booking System to make it easier to book and manage your inspections - completely online. Once your building, electrical or plumbing permit has been issued, visit inspections.calgary.ca to book and manage your inspections using your myID account.

ApplyCentral is our new application system, created to provide a more intuitive, self-serving online experience through the approvals process. Construction Drawings – Development (also known as Subdivision Construction Drawings) is the first available application on ApplyCentral. Sign in with your myID business account to access it at anytime, from anywhere!

Open Sooner - If you are interested in starting a business in Calgary, The City will work with you through the permitting and licensing process. Using feedback from ongoing work with local industry we’ve introduced initiatives to make our services more accessible and are providing more resources for our customers online.

We have curated helpful regulatory information about opening a business from The City of Calgary, online at calgary.ca/opensooner.

Business Experience Rep Program - The Business Experience Representative Team launched in May 2022 and is a one-stop shop for business applicants.

• Our team works with local entrepreneurs who are interested in opening a restaurant, brewery, or urban agriculture business in Calgary.
• Every applicant who applies for a restaurant, brewery or urban agriculture business licence in Calgary is assigned a Business Experience Rep who will review the initial application, make sure the appropriate permits are applied for and ensure that all parts of your application are submitted to get you through the process, faster. 
• Business Experience Reps guide applicants through the entire licensing process, creating faster and more predictable outcomes.

Home and Small Business Webinars - Our Home & Small Business Webinars are free to attend and provide entrepreneurs with an opportunity to ask subject matter experts live questions about the permitting and licensing process for specific business licence types.

• This initiative rolled out last year and we continue to add new business licensing topics every few months.
• Small business owners can rewatch a previously recorded webinar, sign-up for an upcoming session or suggest topics for future webinars by visiting calgary.ca/webinar

Business Licensing Fees - The City is currently waiving fees for new and renewed business licences for companies located in Calgary. Fees will be waived until March 16, 2023.

Quality Completeness Check - Building Permit Completeness Review - We offer a quality and completeness check on every building permit application we receive to ensure applicants have submitted all requirements up-front. Submitting a complete application and following up on any outstanding requirements promptly, will help you move through the review and approval process, faster.

Climate Change - View The City’s latest climate change initiatives on No Average Calgarian (calgary.ca) including; Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP), Climate Change lunch hour webinars, Climate Change events and learning opportunities.

Calgary’s Recovery - Visit No Average Calgarian (calgary.ca) to view the programs supporting Calgary’s Recovery including The Future of Calgary’s Downtown.

LOC Application - The new Land Use Redesignation/Outline Plan/Road Closure (LOC) application is coming to ApplyCentral in 2023. It offers an intuitive, self-directed, completely online process.

Development Map - More functional improvements to our online development map – including improved mobile device accessibility and a QR code that will link from the notice posting board directly to the proposed development.

See how The City of Calgary is doing in the 2021 Municipal Benchmarking Network Canada Report.

• The Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources and the accompanying map have been undergoing improvements, available by the end of 2021. 
  
  
• Our Community Outreach on Planning & Development Toolkit​ is available for anyone interested or involved in the community outreach related to development projects.
  
  
• ​​​We accept online applications for:
  • commercial building permits
  • sign development permits
  • special event tents
  • condo permits​
     
• Our Digital criteria page will help you prepare for your online application.
  
  
• The 2019 Master Development Agreement (MDA)​ has been improved to meet the needs of industry, business and communities. One improvement is the acceptance of surety bonds as an alternative to letters of credit.
  
  
• Council approved amendments to the Land Use Bylaw related to urban food production. The updated bylaw includes a new section on Urban Agriculture use, new parameters for local food sales, the addition of insect farming​ to the Food Production use, and minor amendments to support breweries, wineries and distilleries.
  
  
• The Municipal Development Plan and Calgary Transportation Plan were updated in 2020, as our city changed since they were approved in 2009. New factors will continue to have an impact on how and where people live and work. Our long-range plans make sure City staff, communities, developers, business owners, citizens and Council are working together to build a great city.
  
  
• On November 26, 2020, Council approved a one-time increase to $1.5 million per year for 2021 and 2022 for the Historic Resource Conservation Grant. Of that funding, $1 million is reserved annually for non-residential properties, and $500,000 is reserved for residential properties. This distribution reflects the typically larger financial requirements of non-residential resources, which are often multi-storey buildings with more complex conservation needs.

Simplified permit fees for home renovations

In January 2019, we made it easier for customers to complete their Residential Improvement Projects (RIP) with a simplified fee structure.

We previously calculated RIP fees based on the renovation cost. Because costs vary, our customers and staff negotiated permit costs, making this a complicated calculation for a routine permit. We now offer standard fees:

Simplified certificate of compliance when selling a home

In 2019, we launched an all-in-one service for customers who request a certificate of compliance when selling their home. Previously, customers would bring in their Real Property Report (RPR), which we review to ensure all buildings are within property setbacks. If there are issues, we asked the customer to apply for a relaxation and pay another fee - a second process and a second fee.

Now, this is consolidated into one process. Customers pay one fee and make one application. We review the RPR and if needed, we automatically transition the file to a relaxation request at no extra cost.

Obtain a business licence online

As of July 2018, customers can apply for a business licence, update their business details and apply for permits using a single online application. We were the first Canadian municipality to enable small business customers to start and manage a new business online.

Providing timeline certainty and transparency with online metrics

As a developer, we know you need some certainty in terms of timelines to help run your business. To that end, The City has launched regular updated online metrics on nine application review processes, providing you with both target and actual timelines.

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