Development permit appeals surge in Calgary amid delay concerns

The number of development permit appeals in Calgary has “surged” since citywide rezoning was approved, according to the city’s Subdivision Development and Appeal Board (SDAB), and it’s raising concerns that delays are impacting housing affordability.

The figures were revealed in a pair of responses to administrative inquiries from Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp and Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner.

In response to Sharp, city administration said since May 2024 there have been 269 development permit applications that would have previously required a land-use change prior to council’s citywide rezoning decision.

While some of the permit applications were cancelled, none were rejected and 172 were approved, according to administration.

However, 33 were appealed as of the end of May 2025.

Administration’s response to Penner’s inquiry shows there have been 85 appeals to the SDAB city-wide as of the end of June 2025, including 55 for RC-G “discretionary uses” and five for H-GO permitted uses.

Both RC-G and H-GO zoning districts were included in council’s decision to change the base residential zoning city-wide, to allow a variety of housing types, including single-detached, semi-detached, duplexes and rowhouses, on a single property.

“Some of (the appeals) are justified, don’t get me wrong, but some aren’t,” said Shameer Gaidhar, the chair of the Calgary Inner-City Builders Association.

“Some of them are being used just to delay a development.”

The appeals go to the SDAB, which is a quasi-judicial board that is independent from the city’s planning department, and oversees development decisions made by the City of Calgary.

Penner said her inquiry was to ensure the board had the capacity to hear the amount of appeals that are coming in following the citywide rezoning policy change.

“When we talk about increasing the speed of housing and reducing the cost of housing, this is one area we have to keep an eye on to make sure we’re moving,” Penner said. “One of the ways we can do that is by adding capacity into SDAB.”

According to administration, the average time between the notice of appeal and merit hearing is 68 days, which is raising concerns over costs to developers.

Gaidhar said delays from the appeal process cost a property around $500 per day, and could reach a total of $34,000 over the course of an average appeal timeline.

“In the end its not the developer that pays that, it goes right to the end user,” he told Global News.

“That means if you’re renting, your rent is going up, if you’re a buyer, your price is going to go up. So it doesn’t fall solely on the developer.”

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Sharp, who opposed citywide rezoning, said she is concerned with the delays but “had a feeling” the change would result in increased appeals, as the policy removed a public hearing on rezoning for those property types.

“We removed a process from the front which actually now is creating delays at the end,” Sharp said.

“Removing people out of the process allows them to go to an appeal, which then holds up the permits for shovels in the ground.”

In a statement to Global News, SDAB chair Tim Bardsley confirmed development permit appeals “have surged,” and the board has taken steps to address the numbers by “streamlining the appeal process.”

“While these measures are having a positive effect, we recognize that continuous monitoring of the situation is needed and we are doing so,” Bardsley said in his statement.

“We have sufficient staff and members to carry out these measures and continue to adhere to our statutory obligations to commence appeal hearings within 30 days of the receipt of a properly-filed appeal.”

City administration said it is working on a “more comprehensive” analysis of statistics and trends from the SDAB and will be releasing a report in the coming months on the matter.

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