Edmonton's infill rules and the provincial directive: what we know

On October 8, Premier Danielle Smith and Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams directed Edmonton to revert back to pre-2024 zoning. The province issued a written order on October 22 that provides additional details.

The Written Order

Following weeks of ambiguity, the written order gives Edmonton three months to amend the Zoning Bylaw so that:

• the permitted uses and the regulations respecting density and height for those lots or sites currently zoned as RS – Small Scale Residential are the same as comparable residential lots or sites under the City of Edmonton’s repealed Zoning Bylaw 12800 as it read on December 31, 2023, and
• the parking requirements applicable to the lots or sites currently zoned as RS – Small Scale Residential require the same minimum number of parking spaces as comparable residential lots or sites under the City of Edmonton’s repealed Zoning Bylaw 12800 as it read on July 1, 2020.

In addition, Edmonton has 18 months to complete a review of the Zoning Bylaw to ensure it complies with the Government’s provincial policy statement on infill development, and pass and bring into force a bylaw that amends the Zoning Bylaw to comply with the policy statement to the satisfaction of the Minister.

Our read on it

The province's sights are fixed squarely on the RS zone. This is not good news for the people who invest in and build small scale housing, or for the people who live (or want to live) in small scale housing. However, it appears the entire zoning framework is not at risk.

What this means for your project

What this likely means in the short and medium term is a rush on permits, plus a lot more rezonings, variances, and appeals. (We know it's cold comfort, but we can help with all of that).

Locking in your development potential

Given the uncertainty, we’re advising clients to consider locking in what they can build. There are a few ways to do that, and we can help with all of them.

Get a development permit approved. Everyone's trying to do this. Get it done if you can. If you can't, consider rezoning: either up-zoning or lock-in zoning.

Up-zoning. Up-zoning adds development rights to your site. If policy supports it, consider up-zoning to something other than the RS zone.

Lock-in zoning. We invented this term. Lock-in zoning would entail creating a custom zone for your site that carries today’s zoning rules and today’s parking standards forward. It doesn’t add development rights. It holds the ones you have.

Which of these makes sense depends entirely on the site, where it sits in the process, and what you’re trying to build. Schedule a chat with us below.

We’re tracking this

We’ll update this page as we know more.