The City Planning Framework

Moving Forward with Focus: A simplified process will ensure consistent and informed planning decisions as we implement The City Plan.

No city is static, and The City Plan has put into sharper focus the need to simplify our land use policies. We are cleaning up our policy landscape through the City Planning Framework project, a two-phased project to simplify land use plans to ensure our neighbourhoods are adaptive and responsive to our collective city-building goals.

Streamlining our policies creates clarity and supports our city-building partners by reducing barriers and making it easier to work together with us to welcome the next one million people to our city.

Project Goals

We’re setting ourselves up for success through the City Planning Framework. The project has 4 goals:

Simplify the planning framework
Clarify the planning tools
Develop the land use plan life cycles
Align the framework with Branch work planning and corporate budget cycles

A graphic showing the Planning and Environment Services Framework's 4 goals. View full size image

Occurring over 2 phases, the City Planning Framework will improve our planning policy by creating a process to ensure land use plans remain responsive to the present and future planning needs. It will streamline our policy landscape, improve clarity and accessibility, and support our city-building goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

What work is being done?

The City Planning Framework is proposing to repeal plans that have served their purpose through a Land Development Application. The City Planning Framework simplifies the City’s planning process, making it easier to use and understand.

A simplified process helps us make consistent and informed decisions and achieve the goals in The City Plan.

How will a plan repeal impact me and my neighbourhood?

There is no immediate impact expected on Neighbourhoods or their development. Dozens of neighbourhoods across Edmonton have functioned well without land use plans for decades. When a land use plan is repealed, the Zoning Bylaw continues to regulate the use of every property. Policy direction for neighbourhoods that currently or no longer have an area plan are guided by the Municipal Development Plan, the City Plan.

City-wide planning directions, such as policies in the City Plan, guidelines, best planning practices and technical considerations, as well as public engagement will continue to influence how planning proposals are reviewed and recommended before Council.

If a landowner wants to change their zoning they will still need to make a Land Development Application to have their rezoning reviewed and approved by Council. Notifications of these applications will continue to be governed by the Municipal Government Act.

Please note that repealing these plans will not alter your existing land use rights.

Why are you repealing these plans?

There are many benefits to repealing plans, including:

Clearer policy reduces barriers to economic development
Fewer plans means fewer amendments saving builders and homeowners application and consultant fees
Improved resource efficiency for Administration and communities by reducing the number of notifications to prevent engagement fatigue
Helps to simplify the application process by reducing plans that are outdated or challenging to interpret
Aligns growth expectations and allows for greater flexibility in how we plan and achieve our city-building goals

The City of Edmonton has no cyclical process to repeal plans that have either served their intended purpose or are no longer aligned with current policy. This results in plans remaining in effect beyond their intended use creating confusion for Council, community members, industry partners and sometimes administration.

Why are they being repealed now? Why not wait until after the pandemic, when District Plans are in place?

The work that is proceeding is the result of multiple years of work through Evolving Infill (2016-2018), The City Plan (2018-2020), and the City Planning Framework which was underway before the COVID 19 pandemic. While the pandemic has certainly led to changes in how the work is approached, it remains important work to do.

With over 200 plans in effect, repealing those that have fulfilled their purpose prior to the District Planning work helps simplify our land use policies and allows us to focus limited resources at a time of fiscal restraint. Their purpose and direction no longer provides additional guidance towards meeting the City Plan.

This will reduce redundancy as district plans are developed and contributes to the District Planning team's ability to focus on consolidating relevant land use, mobility and infrastructure information from remaining policies, strategies and geographic plans.

What does it mean that a plan has “served its purpose”?

Plans have served their purpose if:

They are no longer advancing their intended purpose (ie guiding the orderly development of new land, infrastructure, or land use zoning)
They are done informing the creation of other statutory plans which are now in place in the area
The city’s planning approach and direction has evolved since the creation of the plan, and the purpose was never achieved
A newer planning or policy document that provides more up-to-date and relevant direction for the area has been implemented, rendering the plan obsolete
They are beyond their intended lifecycle (if they have an identified time horizon)

How were communities consulted on these repeals?

While the specific plans for repeal will be engaged on through the Land Development Application process, there has been a significant amount of engagement on the need to repeal plans more generally.

Both Evolving Infill and work that supported The City Plan, included specific actions and discussion that drove forward this need. The repeals are primarily an administrative function based on whether they had fulfilled their technical purpose as a land use plan. Policy is not changing or shifting. The repeal process represents a clean-up of the City’s policy landscape.

Meetings were held with city building partners such as Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL), Urban Development Institute - Edmonton Region, IDEA. The list of plans selected for repeal will, be made public in conjunction with the Land Development Application process which will include notices to community leagues and Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), ensuring the public can provide feedback about plans selected for repeal and/or be notified and speak to this application public hearing.

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