The Planning & Development Committee of the Bowness Community Association reviews planning, development, and transportation matters that pertain to the community of Bowness. It considers the built and natural environment as well as provides community context on cultural and social issues. Neither the Planning & Development Committee or the Bowness Community Association have formal jurisdiction or authority in City Planning matters.
These matters are reviewed with respect to the governing statutory documents including the Bowness Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP), City of Calgary Bylaws, Calgary Municipal Development and Transportation Plans (MDP and TP), and the Alberta Municipal Government Act. This is further supplemented by Policy Documents such as the City of Calgary Low Density Residential Guide for established communities.
Welcome. We at the Bowness Planning & Development Committee encourage you to attend our monthly meetings. Our meetings are open to all Bowness residents, organizations, business owners, and applicants. Meetings are held the 1st Wednesday of every month at 7:00 pm in the BCA community Center, (upstairs meeting room).
The P&DC may take on a number of roles and tasks related to community building, change, and improvement. The P&DC should partake in proactive pursuits such as grass-roots initiatives and projects, however a core function of the P&DC is in reviewing applications for rezoning, subdivision, and development permits.
The P&DC performs an advisory role, and comments on how a proposed development fits into the community, and where possible, suggests changes which could make the proposed development more compatible. Neither the BCA nor the P&DC have a formal jurisdiction or authority in planning matters.
To find out more about the role of a Community Association Planning Committee as well as the guidelines that inform our discussions, please refer to the documents below:
We have recently ratified (February 2016) a new Terms of Reference that guides our mandate, membership requirements, and procedures. If you would like to know what terms the Bowness Planning & Development Committee operates on, please read them here:
Planning and Development Terms of Reference Ratified March 2018
A local framework, created with the input of many Bowness residents, and updated periodically. This document provides local context and values, that may not be addressed in municipal bylaws and guidelines.
Calgarians spoke of the need for a more sustainable city that provides the citizens of today and in the future with a high quality of life, high quality of living environments and convenient means to get around. These Plans describe the vision for a long-term pattern of growth and development in Calgary over the next 60 years. They provide policies that integrate social, economic and environmental objectives for the next 30 years>
When developments are proposed in the community, they may be discretionary or contextual. Discretionary applications are those that may not meet city bylaws or require relaxations from standard guidelines. As such, these applications are submitted to neighbors and community associations for their comments. These are typically the applications that are under review at the Planning & Development meetings.
Applications that do not have relaxations and meet all city bylaws, are processed in a fast track system as a ‘contextual application’. The criteria for Contextual’ applications are here.
When the Planning & Development Committee reviews discretionary applications, we discuss the merits and support or concerns of the community regarding the application. We submit our comments to the City in a standardized format, called the Community Context Questionnaire.
Prior to our monthly meetings, the Planning & Development Committee will receive notice of all Development Permits in Bowness. We will notify adjacent or potentially concerned parties in person or with a “Neighbour Notification” letter to ensure that all parties have an opportunity to be informed, and give voice to support or concern of these applications. The notification letter looks like this.
This June, all Bownesians are invited to share about their lives in Bowness through the 2023 Quality of Life survey (formerly Vital Signs.)
Since 2009, we’ve conducted this survey every three years to take a pulse on life in our community and take action on building a better Bowness.
Complete the survey during the month of June for a chance to win 1 of 5 $100 gift cards!
