TAMRMS#: B06
7.1
REQUEST FOR DECISION
title
Bylaw 21/2026 - Land Use Bylaw Amendments for Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) #1 & #3
Presented by: Craig Walker, Senior Planner, Planning & Development
label
RECOMMENDED MOTIONS
recommendation
1. That the Public Hearing on Bylaw 21/2026 be closed.
2. That Bylaw 21/2026, being amendment 22 to Land Use Bylaw 18/2024, be read a first time.
3. That Bylaw 21/2026 be read a second time.
4. That unanimous consent be given for consideration of third reading of Bylaw 21/2026.
5. That Bylaw 21/2026 be read a third time.
body
SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to provide information, rationale, and recommendations on proposed amendments to the Land Use Bylaw (LUB). These amendments implement existing policy direction found within the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) regarding housing options and furthermore are incentivized via the City's Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF). The proposed “Made in St. Albert” amendments strike a balance between the City's values and the need to enable a wider range of housing options, while improving processing efficiency in the land development community. The proposed amending bylaw can be found in Attachment #1. A more reader friendly “redline” version showing the proposed changes is in Attachment #2, while a rationale document explaining the proposed changes is in Attachment #3. To supplement, a simplified table showing the key changes is provided in Attachment #7.
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
• The Municipal Government Act (MGA), Planning Bylaws, Section 692(1) states: “Before giving second reading to: […] (e) a proposal land use bylaw […], a Council must hold a public hearing with respect to the proposed bylaw in accordance with section 216.4, after giving notice of it in accordance with section 606.”
• On April 28, 2021, Flourish, the City's MDP, was approved by Council which provides a long-term plan for the City's urban structure as it grows to 100,000 people. There are several policies that align with Flourish’s vision and enable the supportive growth strategy that supports proposed LUB amendments - as shown in Attachment #4.
• On May 6, 2025, Council passed the following motion: “That PLAN 013 HAF Initiatives be approved in the amount of $11,813,100, to be funded from the CMHC HAF program” (AR-25-203).
• On July 7, 2026, Standing Committee of the Whole (SCoW) received the following report as information: “Update on HAF: Transit Corridor & Neighborhood Intensification Strategies” (AR-26-207). A copy of that report and associated presentation can be found in Attachment #5.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
As described within Flourish, as St. Albert continues grow to a population of 100,000 people, there is an increasing need to accommodate both residential and mixed-used growth within the existing built-up area. The strategic locations for intensification include Downtown and commercial areas along St. Albert Trail, particularly those in proximity to future rapid transit stations. In addition, opportunities will continue to emerge for the sensitive intensification of established neighbourhoods through the introduction of new, compatible housing forms that help maintain healthy, attractive, and vibrant communities.
To support HAF's goal of accelerating housing supply, while ensuring alignment with the policies of Flourish, Administration is recommending two groups of LUB amendments. These recommendations are implemented through HAF Initiative #1, the Transit Corridor Intensification Strategy, and HAF Initiative #3, the Neighbourhood Intensification Strategy.
• The Transit Corridor Intensification Strategy aims to encourage mixed-use and higher-density residential development along St. Albert Trail and within up to 800 meters of planned transit nodes.
• The Neighbourhood Intensification Strategy aims to support reinvestment and low-density redevelopment within St. Albert’s established neighbourhoods, while ensuring that new housing forms remain compatible with the surrounding community character.
The proposed LUB changes reflect the needs of St. Albert and have been carefully crafted to respond to the City's evolving housing and growth priorities. These amendments will help ensure that St. Albert remains a connected and vibrant community as it grows, while providing a broader range of housing options to meet residents' needs at every stage of life. This is a pragmatic and thoughtful approach that reflects our community values while supporting sustainable growth, housing choice, and long-term livability.
On July 7, 2026, Administration provided SCoW with information on HAF Initiatives #1 and #3, which were previously endorsed by Council via project charter approval in May 2025, and are deemed to be a corporate priority between 2025 and 2029. These proposed amendments now require a Council decision.
HAF Initiative #1: Transit Corridor Intensification Strategy
The goal of this initiative is to guide how the City plans to redevelop land for housing and mixed-use spaces within up to 800 meters of future transit nodes along St Albert Trail. The rationale behind the associated proposed LUB changes, already envisioned within the MDP, are several-fold, including to:
1) Establish a clear growth framework that provides certainty to residents, businesses, landowners, and the development industry regarding where redevelopment is anticipated and encouraged;
2) Align higher density in proximity to future rapid transit stations - thus increasing the feasibility for potential rapid bus and/or light rail service over time (including potential for grants from higher levels of government);
3) Make efficient use of existing resources and infrastructure - thus enabling greater financial resiliency for the City due to reduced needs to expand municipal infrastructure and public operations into new greenfield contexts, and increased property assessment within existing neighbourhoods;
4) Provide additional housing options which enables more flexibility for existing and future St. Albert residents throughout changing life stages; and
5) Enable more residents to live within walking distance of employment, retail, services, parks, and community amenities - thereby reducing the need for vehicle trips and improving access to daily needs.
It is anticipated that making it easier to develop apartment buildings and townhouse complexes along St. Albert Trail within the existing Trail Corridor Commercial (TCC) district, while also introducing a new land use district for future mixed-use developments, will help address several key considerations identified through both the public engagement undertaken for Flourish and the City's recent community engagement activities. These include:
1) Addressing the City’s low rental housing vacancy rates, as identified in the 2026 Housing Needs Assessment;
2) Responding to declining household sizes by enabling housing options that appropriately reflect different household sizes (household size decreased from 2.7 persons per household in 2016 to 2.4 in 2024); and
3) Supporting the evolving needs of the business community, which indicated that attracting and retaining employees can be challenging due to a lack of rental and appropriate housing options reflective of the employment opportunities and wage levels.
HAF Initiative #3: Neighbourhood Intensification Strategy
The goal of this initiative is to support gradual, small-scale growth within St. Albert’s established neighbourhoods while ensuring that new development remains compatible with the surrounding area. The proposed amendments to the LUB are intended to facilitate missing middle housing: housing types that are compatible in scale and form with detached dwellings. These housing options can help provide greater housing diversity within existing neighbourhoods while supporting walkability, neighbourhood-serving businesses, and public transportation.
The rationale for the proposed LUB amendments, which have been specifically tailored to St. Albert and are consistent with the vision and policy direction of the MDP, are several-fold, including to:
1) Identify opportunities for LUB updates that support neighbourhood renewal, aging in place, intensification, and diversification of existing housing stock through incremental redevelopment;
2) Accommodate a greater mix of housing forms in existing neighbourhoods that respect the scale and character of the area. Encouraging a wider variety of housing forms can also help ensure the housing supply remains adaptable to future demographic, economic, and societal changes;
3) Encourage intensification through innovative and emerging housing types that are compatible with existing and planned neighbourhoods; and
4) Address housing needs by monitoring changes in the local housing market and encouraging and enabling housing forms that respond to emerging housing needs.
It is anticipated that these LUB amendments will enable increased opportunities for missing middle housing and compatible redevelopment within St. Albert within the Low Density Residential (LDR) district. Changes to enable a more diverse array of single and semi-detached dwellings, accompanied with the potential for secondary suites, meet the intent of the HAF “4 units as-of-right” requirements while addressing several key considerations identified through both the public engagement undertaken for Flourish and the City’s recent community engagement activities. These include:
1) Supporting residents' desire to age in place, while also providing more suitable housing options for students, persons with disabilities, and young individuals, couples, and families;
2) Encouraging intergenerational communities, where children, parents, and seniors can continue to live in the same neighbourhood and maintain important family and social support networks; and
3) Responding to demographic shifts and trends occurring throughout the community, including:
o Population decline in twelve of St. Albert’s oldest neighbourhoods since their peak years;
o Growth driven primarily by one- and two-person households;
o A continued reduction in average household size;
o An increase in the average age from 37.7 to 42.5 years, making St. Albert’s average age the oldest in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region; and
o Approximately 7% of census respondents identify as persons with disabilities.
These amendments create a broader range of housing options within established neighbourhoods while maintaining compatibility with existing community character and responding to the evolving needs of St. Albert residents.
As previously overviewed at SCoW, these amendments are detailed more fully in Attachments #1, #2, and #3. In addition, a simplified table showing the key changes is provided in Attachment #7.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
Between May 2025 and June 2026, Administration has employed an array of communication tactics in order to collect a diverse array of stakeholder feedback - including a HAF webpage, outreach to Indigenous partners, workshops with development/business community representatives, an “Expanding Housing Options” questionnaire, and a ‘drop-in’ style public open house. For more details, please see the previous "Stakeholder Communications or Engagement" section content provided within July 7, 2026, SCoW report found in Attachment #5.
To supplement, it was mentioned within the SCoW report that due to the timing between the June 18 open house and the July 7 SCoW meeting, more detailed feedback would be provided within an updated ‘What We Learned Report’. This is now contained within Attachment #6.
The public hearing is scheduled for September 15, 2026. A public hearing notice has been posted on the City’s website, and full page Citylights advertisements appeared on both the August 27, 2026, and September 3, 2026, editions of the St. Albert Gazette.
IMPACTS OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Financial:
By enabling a broader range of housing options within the City, particularly through the regulatory changes proposed under HAF #1 and HAF #3, the City is expected to achieve greater long-term financial resilience. These changes will support more efficient use of existing infrastructure, increase property assessments within established communities, and help reduce the need to expand municipal infrastructure and services into greenfield areas at the same pace.
As outlined in the HAF Contribution Agreement with CMHC, Council consideration of these amendments is required by the end of September. If adopted, these changes are expected to support the City’s continued eligibility for the next round of federal funding.
Compliance & Legal:
First reading for Bylaw 21/2026 is not a debatable motion and is required in order to table a bylaw for Council’s consideration. Providing first reading of a bylaw does not indicate agreement with the bylaw, but rather is the process by which bylaws may be put forward in accordance with procedural fairness principles.
The public hearing and first, second, and third readings of Bylaw 21/2026 are scheduled for the same day. The MGA provides that a proposed bylaw must not have more than two readings at a council meeting unless the council members present unanimously agree to consider third reading at the same meeting.
If unanimous consent for third reading of Bylaw 21/2026 is not granted on September 15, 2026, after first and second reading, third reading of this bylaw will be considered at the next regular Council meeting. During that time in-between, Council members will be unable to accept further written or verbal submissions germane to this matter, and will not be able to ask for new, substantive information on the subject matter prior to third reading (MGA, s. 187; Procedure Bylaw, Schedule E, s. 19).
Program or Service:
None at this time.
Organizational:
None at this time.
Risks
None at this time.
Initiative aligned with Strategic Plan:
Missing Middle and Neighbourhood Revitalization Study and Plan
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
• Strategic Priority One: Robust Economy & Responsible Growth: “Support business attraction, retention and expansion and targeted residential and sector growth to support a sustainable tax base.”
• Strategic Priority Three: Community Well Being: “Accommodate the diverse needs of our residents and foster an inclusive and safe community where everyone has an opportunity to fully participate and feel welcomed, while preserving the natural resources that enrich our city.”
ALIGNMENT TO LEVELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
This aligns with Service Level Inventory Items:
• D.1.2 Issuance of Land Use and Development Permits and Licenses; and
• D.4.1 Current Planning Application Processing, which includes processing and coordination of the approval of statutory plans and amendments, subdivision and condominium applications.
IMPACTS OF ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
If Council does not wish to support the proposed motion, Administration presents the following alternatives for Council’s consideration.
ALTERNATIVE 1: Defeat second or third reading of Bylaw 21/2026.
Financial:
As per the HAF Contribution Agreement with the CMHC, Council consideration of these amendments is required by the end of September to advance additional funds from CMHC. By not giving second and third readings, the City would risk its continued eligibility for the next round of federal funding from CMHC. The remainder of the CHMC funding distribution is $5.9 million dollars. Failure to enable four units as-of-right (or other City-agreed upon HAF targets) might also be met with requests to claw back previously distributed money from the CMHC.
Compliance & Legal:
The proposed changes to the LUB align with Flourish and comply with the federal government housing policy direction (enabling four units as-of-right zoning in a St. Albert context). Four units as-of-right is a requirement of the HAF program and has also been incorporated into other federal funding initiatives.
Should Council choose not to adopt the proposed amendments, the City may not fully align with federal housing policy objectives, which could affect its eligibility for the continued disbursement of federal grants and for future federal grant opportunities.
Program or Service:
None at this time.
Organizational:
None at this time.
Risks
See ‘Financial’ above.
body
Report Date: September 15, 2026
Author: Craig Walker, Senior Planner
Department: Planning & Development
Department Director: Kristina Peter
Managing Director: Adryan Slaght
Chief Administrative Officer: William Fletcher