New Edmonton bylaws encourage more construction

Thanks to two new Edmonton bylaws passed by City Council over the summer, developers and homeowners will have much more flexibility in designing and building houses.

The bylaws have eased height and grade restrictions on residential housing, cut down on permit-related delays by almost a month, and take into account new construction techniques adopted by the housing industry that previous rules were unable to take into account.

Colton Kirsop, a senior planner in current planning with the city’s Sustainable Development Department, says one factor eliminated by the bylaws was using the number of floors to determine height.

“A lot of more modern architecture has introduced a lot of mezzanines and terraces, multiple levels inside houses or even apartments,” he says. “It became almost arbitrary what counted as a floor and what didn’t. We thought it would be cleaner and simpler to actually regulate the height of the building.”

Homes in new developments can be built up to 11.5 metres tall. However, more mature neighbourhoods, because of the existing character and scale of adjacent buildings, will be limited to 10.1 metres. Still, the height bylaw will allow for floor-to-ceiling heights up to 10 ft. (the previous bylaw limited them to eight ft.), which is in large demand among consumers.

The Edmonton bylaws governing height also affect new styles in home design, especially roofs.

“If a builder wants to use a pitched roof, we added that height because pitched roofs are common and many multifamily builders would like to use them,” Kirsop says. “In the past, they had to apply for a variance or weren’t even able to do it under that existing height in the bylaw.”

Residents in all neighbourhoods wanting to add features such as a walkout basement or drive-under garage will be able to get a permit without the once-mandatory 21-day neighbour notification period, to alleviate construction delays. Kirsop says the old regulation didn’t make sense in new development districts where there are no new neighbours yet. As well, a new calculation devised by the city to determine grade (the bottom starting point used to determine height) will make planning simpler for builders.

Kirop says some parts of the old bylaws haven’t been renewed since the 1980s. That meant they didn’t cover new construction techniques such as open web floor trusses that allow for easier installation of ducts, pipes and wiring.

So far, he says, the feedback from developers over the changes has been quite positive.

“They’re happy because it doesn’t take them as long to get a development permit for walkout basements or drive-under garages,” he says. “And they are still interested in seeing some additional increases to the height limits in various zones.”

Kirsop adds that those height limit issues will be addressed in 2016.

Photo: Gene Kosowan

RELATED READING

Grumpy Cat, Chicken Little and Edmonton housing facts

The sky is still not falling on Alberta housing

Neighbourhood farmers' markets booming in Edmonton

Caption: Homes like this infill house under construction in Westmount face more height restrictions than those in newer neighbourhoods.