Development permit appeals surge in Calgary amid delay concerns

According to the Calgary Inner-City Builders Association, every day of delay caused by an appeal process costs $500, and appeals on average take 68 days to complete.

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.