Mayor Nenshi and Canadian Homebuilders’ Association agree to joint statement of facts

UPDATE 1: Listen to Mayor Nenshi discuss this on the CBC Eyeopener.
UPDATE 2: Read about the ongoing discussion about development in Calgary here.

Today, Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Charron Ungar, President of the Canadian Home Builders Association - Calgary Region (CHBA-CR), signed a joint statement agreeing on the facts and challenges of suburban development in Calgary. The statement, which was approved by both City Council and the CHBA-CR Board of Directors will allow the association to return to City advisory committees, effective immediately, including the Cut Red Tape and Transforming Planning initiatives.

Joint statement from the Canadian Home Builders' Association and The Office of The Mayor 

Mayor Nenshi and CHBA-CR President Charron Ungar

March 6, 2013

The Canadian Home Builders’ Association – Calgary Region (the “CHBA-CR”) and the Mayor met last week to discuss the issues that arose from the CHBA-CR dinner in January. The purpose of this joint statement is to clarify the facts and set out the commitments of both parties going forward.

Development is changing.

Both parties acknowledge that The City of Calgary (“The City”) is not imposing a suburban development freeze and that The City has sufficient serviced land supply to meet forecasted population growth in the short term. There are currently 2,210 hectares (22 km2) of vacant serviced land, as defined in The City’s draft Suburban Growth Report 2013-2017, with an additional 420 hectares of serviced vacant land to be added by the end of 2014. Furthermore, five additional Area Structure Plans, either approved or proposed to be approved in 2013 and 2014, will add an additional 2,870 (28 km2) hectares of planned land supply.

The land development industry is changing as we adapt to the realities about land, the cost of infrastructure and the vision for Calgary set forth in the Municipal Development Plan. Due to the relatively small number of land developers, some home builders may face challenges accessing greenfield lots in particular types of developments. Both The City and the CHBA-CR have an important role in helping the industry adapt to the new realities faced by the home building industry.

Everyone must do better.

The City, along with industry partners, including the CHBA-CR, has undertaken an unprecedented reform of The City’s planning system. Growth Management, Cut Red Tape and Transforming Planning are key initiatives to produce a more predictable, efficient and effective system. All actors in the system, including The City and the CHBA-CR, have a role to play in creating a better planning system that produces even better neighbourhoods for Calgarians. Both The City and the CHBA-CR are committed to working on these issues in a constructive and respectful manner.

We are making progress.

The good news is that significant progress is being made:

• The Growth Management initiative is developing a transparent and open process for determining when and where new suburban land will be opened up for development. This process will ensure that land is developed according to set criteria and ensure that funding is in place to pay for the necessary infrastructure.
• The Cut Red Tape initiative has over 60 projects completed or underway to make it easier to do business at City Hall.
• The Transforming Planning initiative has The City, working in partnership with industry, including the CHBA-CR, overhauling the entire planning system. Working with industry, The City will be piloting new processes this year.
• Housing starts of all types, including single-family, semi-detached townhomes and multi-family condominiums, are at, or are approaching, pre-recession levels. Both The City and industry understand the need for housing to continue to be built to accommodate growth.

Both The City and the CHBA-CR recognize that we need to do a better job of sharing information with members of the industry and will work together to provide better and more frequent progress reports to industry members. In order to improve communication between the Mayor and the CHBA-CR, the Mayor has designated his Chief of Staff to serve as a liaison between the Mayor and the CHBA-CR.

Going forward.

The City commits to developing new terms of reference outlining how stakeholders can work better on committees. The CHBA-CR commits to sharing accurate information it has garnered from its participation on these committees with its members.

Based on the commitments made by the parties in this joint statement, The Mayor and the CHBA-CR have agreed that the CHBA-CR can continue its role on City committees effective immediately.

[signed]
Naheed K. Nenshi
Mayor
The City of Calgary

[signed]
Charron Ungar
President
Canadian Home Builders Association - Calgary Region