TAMRMS#: B06
4.1
Information Item Only
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Introduction & Updates re. Housing Accelerator Fund
Presented by: Craig Walker, Senior Planner; Lory Scott, Affordable Housing Liaison
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SUMMARY
The City of St. Albert has been approved to receive up to $11.8 million in funding through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) grant program. The purpose of this report is to share general information on the City’s HAF Action Plan, and more detailed information regarding two associated initiatives. Following a presentation scheduled at the Standing Committee of the Whole meeting on December 9, 2025, Council will have the opportunity to ask questions.
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
On May 6, 2025, Council passed the following motion:
AR-25-203
That PLAN-013 Housing Accelerator Fund Initiatives be approved in the amount of $11,813,100, to be funded from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Program.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The Government of Canda is providing the City of St. Albert with up to $11.8 million in four funding installments through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) grant program - led by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The purpose of this program is to remove barriers and to encourage local initiatives which build more homes faster, focusing on increasing the ability to develop “missing middle” housing products and enhance certainty in approvals and building processes, while supporting affordable, diverse and climate resilient communities. This program is unique in that matching financial contributions are not required from the City.
Like other HAF recipients across Canada, the City is required to use this funding to implement systemic process changes and regulatory updates in alignment with the program guidelines. As shown in Attachment #1, the associated project charter was approved by Council in May 2025, which enabled Administration to begin advancing seven HAF initiatives. These initiatives have been deemed to be a corporate priority between 2025 and 2029.
The City received the first of four funding installments in the amount of $2,953,273. Future funding installments are conditional on the City meeting the following conditions:
• Fulfilling project milestones and deadlines outlined in the HAF Action Plan;
• Achieving predicted housing targets above the City’s typical three-year average - primarily in “missing middle” housing forms. More specifically, whereas St. Albert would typically realize approximately 1,248 new housing units over a three-year period, it is anticipated that 1,550 new housing units (302 additional units) would result from the implementation of the HAF initiatives.
• Explore and propose options that enable up to four housing units on typical low-density residential lots through updated Land Use Bylaw regulations. To note, the Government of Canada has incorporated this specific requirement (among other conditions) to qualify for other funding programs such as the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund, Canada Permanent Public Transit Funds, and the Build Communities Strong Fund.
The HAF Action Plan summaries on all seven initiatives are outlined in Attachment #2. For the remainder of this report, details will focus on two of the initiatives nearing completion.
LAND USE BYLAW AMENDMENTS
The Land Use Bylaw (LUB) is a document that enables land use and development within St. Albert. As required by the Government of Alberta’s Municipal Government Act, the LUB covers a wide range of development regulations, including:
• Establishing processes associated with development permits and redistricting properties;
• Classifying land use districts and determining development standards such as the height, form, and use of buildings;
• Determining appropriate permitted and discretionary uses for each land use district; and more.
To satisfy the City’s commitments with CMHC, two of the HAF initiatives nearing completion include proposed amendments to the Land Use Bylaw (LUB). Such changes necessitate a public hearing and Council decision anticipated for January 27, 2026. For efficiencies, the proposed amendments are being grouped with broader LUB housekeeping amendments, predominantly involving updates to numbering, definitions, and punctuation.
Established Neighbourhood Overlay Amendments
The goal of this initiative (also known as HAF “Initiative #2”) is to identify and implement ‘quick win’ solutions to regulatory challenges in the Land Use Bylaw - specifically, within the “Established Neighbourhood Overlay” (ENO).
An “overlay” is a supplemental layer of Land Use Bylaw regulations which apply to a specific geographic area only. In this instance, although the vast majority of single-detached dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, and duplexes across the City are regulated by the “Low Density Residential” (LDR) district in newer and older neighbourhoods alike, the ENO (originally introduced in 2006) adds further regulations to such properties within the established neighborhoods of Lacombe Park, Mission, The Gardens, Woodlands, Braeside, Forest Lawn, Sturgeon Heights, and Akinsdale.
Based upon Administration’s experience using the ENO and with input from targeted representatives within the infill development/building industry, the existing ENO regulations were reviewed to determine what changes would provide greater clarity, and to determine what specific ENO and/or LDR regulations should take precedence (e.g. building setbacks/heights, lot coverage) at the development stage. Additionally, Administration sought to balance the character of established neighbourhoods and streetscapes (as the ENO originally intended), while also encouraging more redevelopment currently enabled within the applicable LDR district. Updates are envisioned to better reflect current real estate market norms (e.g. higher ceilings, larger floor areas, two storey dwellings, multiple bathrooms, and flexible gathering spaces) while supporting greater housing options. This includes:
- Removing "contextual" rules: Using consistent development regulations, instead of site-specific calculations that previously relied on neighbouring properties for calculation;
- Supporting modern renovations: Slightly increasing the allowed height and floor area to make it easier to update older homes (e.g. adding a second storey to a bungalow);
- Providing greater flexibility for garage placement on corner lots;
- Streamlining decision-making process; and
- Reducing duplication.
Minimum Residential Parking Supply Regulations Amendments
The goal of this initiative (also known as HAF “Initiative #6”) is to better “right-size” minimum residential parking supply regulations in a manner consistent with best practices, research, and St. Albert-specific on-site data collection.
Parking is a component of development affordability, with underground parking being particularly costly to construct (e.g. $45,000+ per space). The exact cost is dependent upon a multitude of factors (e.g. number of underground parking levels, soil conditions, parking lot size and configuration, etc.); however, one study (T. Litman) suggests that parking reforms such as the kind being described via this project “can typically reduce the costs of basic, lower-priced housing by 10-20%”. Informed opportunities to reduce parking requirements of residential developments have the potential to improve affordability - and in a manner that is more cost effective than other cost saving measures.
To explore further, Administration retained a consultant to conduct a comparative jurisdictional scan of the various residential parking supply requirements of regional and/or similar municipalities. In addition, recognizing that higher density residential developments have the highest parking stall counts and the greatest likelihood of requiring underground parking, the consultant conducted parking observations at ten apartment buildings in St. Albert to assess their utilization.
To summarize the study’s findings:
- The jurisdictional scan indicates that St. Albert’s residential parking supply requirements are generally in-line with comparable municipalities, however there are several opportunities for updates, discussed below.
- The parking supply requirements for affordable non-market housing (outside downtown), group homes, and supportive living accommodation are higher than the range of requirements for peer municipalities and can be reduced.
- The parking supply requirements for “townhouse plex” (i.e. triplex or fourplex on corner lots with lane access only) can be reduced to enable smaller scale housing redevelopment projects.
- For the 10 apartment sites where data was collected, the observed parking rate ranged from 0.66 to 1.02 stalls per dwelling unit, with an average of 0.85 and median of 0.87 stalls per dwelling unit. This is evidence to support reducing the current residential parking rate for non-downtown apartments, which currently requires 1 stall per dwelling unit.
The complete parking regulation study will be provided in the upcoming Council report associated with the anticipated Public Hearing. In the interim, as a result of that study, Administration is recommending the proposed updates as outlined in the following chart.
|
Type of Development |
Existing Regulation |
Proposed Regulation |
|
● "Dwelling (Apartment)”, ● "Dwelling Unit Above a Non-Residential Use” ● “Dwelling (Loft Unit)" |
● 1 parking space per dwelling unit |
● 0.9 parking spaces per dwelling unit [Note: excludes Downtown] |
|
● "Dwelling (Townhouse - Plex)" |
● 2 parking spaces per dwelling unit |
● 1 parking space per dwelling unit. |
|
● "Supportive Living Accommodation" |
● 1 parking space per dwelling unit, plus ● Additional parking requirements for visitors/employees |
● 1 parking space per 3 dwelling units, plus ● Additional parking requirements for visitors/employees (i.e. leave unchanged). |
|
● "Affordable Non-Market Housing" |
● 1 visitor parking space per 7 dwelling units, plus ● Additional parking requirements for residents. |
● 1 visitor parking space per 10 dwelling units, plus ● Additional parking requirements for residents (i.e. leave unchanged). |
Reduced minimum parking supply requirements does not necessarily mean that less parking supply will be provided by developers in all instances. As they are minimums, developers can go above and beyond to help ensure their customer parking needs are met. However, reduced requirements could help to reduce costs for developers and end-users (e.g. homeowners/tenants), make for more efficient land development, and enable smaller developers and non-profit organizations to proceed with their developments in a manner that might not otherwise be possible.
Next Steps
This report has outlined how the City of St. Albert is receiving up to $11.8 million in funding from the CMHC. Seven associated initiatives are currently underway, which will collectively advance a number of previously identified corporate priorities outlined within the Council Strategic Plan, Corporate Business Plan, and Municipal Development Plan. Administration will continue to advance work regarding the HAF Action Plan, including bringing proposed Land Use Bylaw amendments forward for Council’s consideration - anticipated for January 27, 2026.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
Tailored public engagement and/or communication plans have been prepared for each of the seven HAF initiatives, in general alignment with the City’s Public Participation Policy C-CAO-20.
For the two initiatives necessitating a Council decision on January 27, 2026 (i.e., Initiatives #2 and #6), community engagement highlights include:
• May 26, 2025: Questionnaire circulated to targeted representatives of the infill development/building industry about Initiative #2 (Land Use Bylaw’s “Established Neighbourhood Overlay”). Feedback received will be provided as part of the Council report regarding the proposed Land Use Bylaw changes.
• November 13 to 20, 2025: Advertisements placed in the St. Albert Gazette and via the City’s Facebook and Instagram accounts to promote the public open house. To further supplement, staff directly invited various Indigenous partners and representatives from the development/building industry via emails, and pertinent updates were made to the City’s HAF webpage.
• November 24, 2025: A ‘drop-in’ style public open house was held at Servus Place. Feedback received will be provided as part of the Council report regarding the proposed Land Use Bylaw changes.
• January 27, 2026: Subsequently, a public hearing is anticipated on January 27, 2026, and will be advertised in accordance with Municipal Government Act requirements.
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
• Strategic Priority One: Economic Prosperity: “Support plans and agreements that foster development in St. Albert, including mature neighbourhoods, and build affordability in all new development. This strategy includes completion of the Infill Strategy [Note: the equivalent of which is now underway via HAF Initiative #3 in particular, among other initiatives].”
• Strategic Priority Three: Community Well Being: “Support development of mixed housing choices including market, attainable, and transitional housing types.”
Initiative aligned with Strategic Plan:
Update of the Land Use Bylaw
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.
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Report Date: December 9, 2025
Authors: Craig Walker, Senior Planner; and Lory Scott, Affordable Housing Liaison
Department: Planning & Development
Department Director: Kristina Peter
Managing Director: Adryan Slaght
Chief Administrative Officer: William Fletcher