OUR MISSION STATEMENT
To promote a sense of community by enhancing and preserving the quality of living and the historic character of our unique neighbourhood.
Land use is a key element of that and so the review and changes to land use bylaws are important issues needing residents engagement.
BACKYARD SUITES
BACKYARD SUITE REVIEW
The City of Red Deer is looking into revising the Backyard Suite regulations. Red Deer’s yard suite regulations allow for the largest buildings that we could find in Alberta (and possibly even Canada). There is an incredible amount of great information put together by the Waskasoo Community Association. Find out more by visiting https://www.waskasoo.com/planning-and-development
It’s important that you take part in the discussion. This is a separate issue from the Housing Accelerator Fund initiatives, and even if those initiatives are passed, there will still be regulations on backyard suites.
Whether or not you want to see changes to the regulations, please fill out the City survey at https://engage.reddeer.ca/ SURVEY CLOSES ON JULY 18, 2025
You can also email comments to communications@reddeer.ca
and/or cc City Council at citycouncil@reddeer.ca
Please cc us at: parkvalerd@gmail.com so we know we are representing our community.
Some of the PCA Board’s concerns are:
☑ No variances of height and floor area regulations should be allowed.
☑ Floor area should have a set maximum (e.g. Airdrie’s maximum is 750ft2 if on the ground level and 590 ft2 if above a garage)
☑ Heights should be no taller than the primary dwelling with a set maximum (e.g. Airdrie’s maximum is 5m (16.5 ft) if on the ground and 7.4m (24 ft) if above the garage)
☑ No balconies or large windows overlooking other yards if the view cannot be screened with a fence
☑ Suites should be located where they have least impact on sun access to neighboring properties
☑ Off-street parking must be provided
HAF2 FUNDING – 4 UNITS – AS- OF – RIGHT
Red Deer has received a $12M HAF2 grant from the Federal Government to spur housing development. A requirement of the grant is the City MUST permit up to four housing units on ALL residential lots. You may think the lots in your area are too small for four units, but part of the initiative is to increase heights and reduce setbacks (build closer together) to allow four units.
This could include a multi-storey fourplex, a house with backyard and/or house suites, a duplex with each unit having a suite, a triplex with one unit having a suite, or a townhouse. “Permit” means that development applications for up to 4 units on a lot MUST be approved by Provincial law. Neighbours will not be consulted or have the right to appeal.
To promote the development of these builds, the City is also looking at reducing or eliminating off-street parking requirements for ALL residential buildings, increasing height and floor area limits, reducing side, front, and rear yard minimums, and providing developers with loans and grants. The emphasis on neighbours’ rights to amenities such as sun access and privacy will likely also be reduced.
This does not mean that every lot will be developed with fourplexes. Landowner desire and economic feasibility will be factors in future developments.
The information in the above 3 paragraphs comes from a brief Council Agenda report from February 10, 2025. See the report here.
See Council's decision here.
If City Council chooses to make four plexes a permitted use and accept the HAF2 grant, The City will have to issue permits for 1177 medium and high density dwelling units over three years, an achievement that will require investment by the City well beyond the $12M grant.
As part of the HAF2 application, City administration outlined the following 7 steps they intend to take to reach that goal:
1. Transit Proximity: Making more than 4 dwellings per lot a permitted use and allowing 8-plexes as a discretionary use, further increasing building heights, further reducing or eliminating parking, and creating higher minimum density requirements within 800m of Gaetz Avenue as a main transit corridor. See the photo of a City of Red Deer map presented at one of the public engagement sessions. (Scroll down to see map) The 8-plex zone is marked off with a red dotted line and includes all of Bower, Parkvale, Pines, Normadeau, and Highland Green Estates, and significant portions of Mountview, Woodlea, Waskasoo, Kingsgate, Kentwood, Glendale, Riverside Meadows and Westpark.
Up to 4 storey heights would be permitted in the low density residential areas.
2. Dollars for Doors: Provide developers with grants and loans for medium and high-density development, prioritizing developments with more than 4 units.
3. Rapid Residential: Waive fees for developers ($5000 to $100,000 depending on size of buildings), fast track medium and high density development applications, and pre-approve (or make permitted) the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Design Catalog designs for yard suite, duplex, fourplex, and sixplex developments.
4. Red Tape Reduction: Reduce developers’ risk and wait times by reducing public consultation and rights to appeal, removing development decisions from City Council and the Municipal Planning Commission, and giving more authority to City staff to approve rezoning and development permits. The City's development process will also be digitized including rezoning, subdivision, and permit processes. Developers will also have "concierge support" through the process.
5. Incentivize Affordable Housing: Provide grants to incentivize 100 units of affordable housing
6. Land Disposition: Sell or lease underutilized City-owned land and/or buildings to developers for medium and high-density housing. There is no map of where these might be located but the application states there are 32 parcels in "mature," "desirable" areas.
The rest of the lengthy Council report can be read here. Council's decision can be read here.
The initiatives are also briefly covered under the Business tab on the city webpage at https://www.reddeer.ca/business/planning/housing-accelerator-fund-haf-projects/
Read the City's grant application here. Scroll down a bit to get to the project description.
Read the grant agreement with the federal government here. General information on the HAF2 grant and how it works can be found here.
General informati how it works can be found here.
