Homebuilders In Calgary Being Held Down By Red Tape

Based on a recent study, it showed that homebuilders residing in Calgary are being faced with higher levels of red-tape than other development-friendly environs and it’s causing the city’s density aims to be stifled.

A chief research director at the Fraser Institute and also the co-author of New homes and Red Tape in Alberta: Residential Land-Use Regulation in the Calgary Edmonton Corridor said; “Calgary city council talks about increasing density, yet its policies are doing the opposite and driving residential development into neighboring municipalities.”

The report indicated that Calgary was ranked as the 10th most regulated out of other 12 municipalities with Edmonton up ahead in the 6th place and Strathmore leading on top as the least structured, as shown in the Calgary-Edmonton corridor. Foothills No. 31, Cochrane, Airdrie and Okotoks makes up the top five.

It takes at least 13.5 months for permits to be approved in Calgary, with an extra five months for the reasoning applications to be sanctioned. The cost is $5,000 more for new homes when compared to other neighboring suburbs.

Green believed; “If the City of Calgary really wants to attain its stated goal of increasing density, then it should align residential development regulation with the surrounding regions and stop stunting new development with excessive red tape.”