Item 4 — Deleting Design Standards for Rowhouses

Understanding what design rules existed, what was removed, and what both sides say about it

What Happened

Bylaw 21P2024 deleted subsection 347.3 of the Land Use Bylaw in its entirety. That subsection contained a detailed set of design standards that rowhouse buildings had to meet in order to be approved as a permitted use in the R-CG district.

Those standards are now gone. Rowhouse buildings in Calgary are no longer required to meet any of the specific design criteria that subsection 347.3 contained.

What Did Subsection 347.3 Actually Require?

Façade Articulation

Each unit in a rowhouse had to have a portion of its street-facing façade either recessed or projecting forward from the rest of the building. Minimum dimensions applied:

• At least 2.0 metres in width

• At least 0.3 metres in depth

• At least 2.4 metres in height

Alternatively a porch projecting from the street-facing façade could satisfy this requirement provided it was at least 2.0 metres wide and 1.2 metres deep. This requirement ensured that rowhouses did not present a flat unbroken wall to the street but instead had visible variation that acknowledged each individual unit.

Main Floor Elevation

The main floor of a rowhouse could not be located more than 1.2 metres above grade at the street-facing façade. This prevented buildings from presenting a blank elevated wall at street level and ensured that units related to the street at a human scale.

Corner Parcel Entrances

A rowhouse on a corner lot had to have an exterior entrance visible from each street side of the corner. This ensured that corner developments engaged with both streets rather than turning their back on one of them.

No Attached Private Garages

Rowhouses that were permitted uses could not have attached private garages. This prevented garage-dominated street frontages where the visual character of the building is defined by garage doors rather than windows, entrances, and landscaping.

Lane Access for Parking

Each dwelling unit in a rowhouse had to have a parking stall or private garage with direct individual access to a lane. This kept vehicle access at the rear of the property rather than the front, preserving the quality of the street-facing façade.

Window Restrictions on Side Facades

Windows on exposed side facades could not be located beyond the rear facade of a neighbouring building unless one of the following applied:

• The window was located below the second storey

• The glass in the window was entirely obscured

• There was a minimum distance of 1.5 metres between the finished floor and the bottom of the window sill

• The facade containing the window was set back a minimum of 4.2 metres from the side property line

Slope Restrictions

A rowhouse could not be built on a parcel where the difference between average building reference points was greater than 2.4 metres. This prevented rowhouses from being built on steeply sloping lots where the design challenges could compromise the quality of the development.

Heritage Area Restrictions

Rowhouses that were permitted uses could not be located in heritage guideline areas.

Building Depth Limits

The maximum building depth of a rowhouse that was a permitted use was the greater of:

• 60% of the parcel depth, or

• The contextual building depth average of neighbouring buildings

Why Did the City Delete These Standards?

Restructuring Permitted Versus Discretionary Uses

Under the old system subsection 347.3 existed as the threshold between permitted and discretionary rowhouses:

• A rowhouse that met all those standards was permitted — automatically approved

• One that did not was discretionary — requiring a decision by the Development Authority

By moving all rowhouses to the discretionary category Bylaw 21P2024 eliminated the two-track system that 347.3 existed to support. The standards became structurally redundant once there were no longer permitted rowhouses that needed to meet them.

Avoiding Duplication

The bylaw already contains general rules about setbacks, height, lot coverage, and building design that apply to all development in R-CG. The City's position is that those general rules are sufficient to govern rowhouse design without a separate set of rowhouse-specific standards sitting alongside them.

Reducing Barriers to Development

Detailed prescriptive design standards add cost and complexity to development applications. Removing them reduces barriers for developers seeking to build rowhouses, which aligns with the City's broader goal of increasing housing supply.

What Are the Concerns About This Change?

The Standards Existed for a Reason

The design requirements in 347.3 were not arbitrary. They were developed over time in response to actual experience with rowhouse development in Calgary neighbourhoods. Critics argue that:

• Requirements like façade articulation addressed specific ways poorly designed rowhouses had negatively affected streetscapes

• Lane access for parking and restrictions on attached garages protected street-facing character

• Main floor elevation limits ensured buildings related to the street at a human scale

• Deleting them removes protections built up through real experience

The Discretionary Process Is Not an Equivalent Substitute

Supporters of the deletion argue that moving rowhouses to the discretionary category provides adequate oversight. Critics argue this misunderstands how the discretionary process works:

• A discretionary use application does not require a public hearing in the same way a rezoning does

• The Development Authority makes a decision based on the rules in the bylaw

• If the bylaw no longer contains specific design standards the Development Authority has limited grounds to impose design requirements that applicants have not volunteered

• A compliant application has a strong basis for approval even if neighbours object to the design

Street Level Impact

The requirements around façade articulation, main floor elevation, garage placement, and lane access were all directly related to how a rowhouse presents itself to the street. Without those requirements rowhouses can be built with:

• Garage-dominated frontages

• Blank walls at street level

• Designs that bear little visual relationship to the existing character of the surrounding street

Privacy Impacts on Neighbours

The window restriction rules in 347.3 were specifically designed to protect the privacy of people living in adjacent properties. Without those rules rowhouses can be designed with windows on side facades that directly overlook neighbouring yards and living spaces. For owners of properties next to a rowhouse development this is a concrete and immediate quality of life concern.

Loss of Heritage Protections

The deletion of the heritage area restriction means rowhouses can now be proposed in areas with heritage guidelines without the automatic barrier that 347.3 provided. Heritage areas will still have other protections but the specific rowhouse restriction is gone.

What Does This Mean in Practical Terms?

For Homeowners Next to a Potential Rowhouse Development

• A rowhouse proposed next door no longer has to meet the specific design standards that previously applied

• The Development Authority will evaluate the application against the general R-CG rules

• Those general rules are less specific and less protective than 347.3 was

• There are fewer specific written standards to point to when raising concerns about design quality, privacy, or street character

For Developers

• The deletion removes a set of requirements that could add cost and complexity to a rowhouse application

• The development process is more straightforward without a specific design threshold to meet

• There is more flexibility in how a rowhouse can be designed and still receive approval

For the Development Authority

• Applications are evaluated against the general R-CG rules rather than the specific 347.3 standards

• There is more interpretive flexibility but also fewer specific grounds to impose design conditions

• Decisions are more dependent on professional judgment and less on written prescriptive rules

Key Facts

• Section of the bylaw deleted: Subsection 347.3 of Land Use Bylaw 1P2007

• What it contained: Specific design standards for rowhouses including facade articulation, main floor elevation, lane access for parking, garage restrictions, window restrictions, slope limits, heritage area restrictions, and building depth limits

• Why the City deleted it: To remove structural redundancy created by moving all rowhouses to the discretionary use category and to reduce barriers to rowhouse development

• Primary concern among critics: Loss of specific design protections that addressed real neighbourhood impacts and that cannot be fully replaced by the general R-CG rules or the discretionary approval process

• Who is most affected: Homeowners whose neighbouring properties are potential rowhouse development sites

• Where the impact is most visible: Street-level design quality, privacy between neighbouring properties, and the character of established streetscapes

Read the full bylaw: calgary.ca

See the related proposal: [Link to Item 4 Proposal — insert once created]

Next: Item 5 — How Rowhouses Get Approved Now →