I have posted frequently in the past how this City (mostly the administration by my best guess), does not want affordable housing built in Calgary (despite what the leadership says).  The prime directive of the organization is to take as much money as possible from builder applicants while ratcheting upward costly requirements, it does this to feed itself enhanced benefits, wages and pensions, and authority over the productive class of the economy.  The latest trend is increasing professional involvement and more code requirements.  Having more professional involvement in my view has a few repercussions.  It layers on more complexity and time, and the outcome is rarely different other than more payments are made to the professionals involved.  The City loves increasing professional involvement because it makes for a convenient location to point a finger at if something goes wrong.  For the City, it is most satisfied when it can take fees, enforce unnecessary regulations, and pass off liability to a credentialed third party.  Professionals can justify their fees by taking on project risk that was not formerly there.  The outcome is always more cost, and in the end, everyone has to pay.

The amount of Orwellian double speak is fascinating in the building industry today.  We have the Alberta New Home Buyer Protection Act, which is legislation that does little to improve housing and mainly transfers resources from builder construction budgets to insurance companies, and we have municipalities that use internal policies to undermine the Provincial Act.  In Calgary, the trend is to create two new rules or fee based policies for every outdated regulation that is deleted.  New publicly funded housing projects are celebrated with ribbon cutting ceremonies, while policies are put in place to make every other housing project more costly.  

A classic example I have found about how the City makes costs higher is by ensuring that there can be no warranty premium exemption given to builder/owners who intend to build market based rental housing.  The Provincial Act has an exemption to qualifying projects so that the builder doesnt need to pay warranty premiums for new rental buildings (why would you pay for the warranty that you have to service yourself?).  The City ensures that permits are not given until the warranty exemption is impossible to achieve by undermining the Provincial Act.  Rarely do you see a written example of a municipality directly putting in place an insubordinate policy.

Section of Alberta New Home Buyer Protection Act:

I understand that Pursuant to Section 3.1(8) of the Act, when this designation is registered on the certificate of title to the Lands, the lands may not be:

1. Sold, made subject to an agreement for sale or otherwise disposed of, unless it is sold to a person referred to in Section 3.1(3) of the Act.
2. Included in a condominium plan or a proposed condominium plan, or
3. Subdivided in any other manner, during the protection period applicable to the multiple family dwelling(s) under Section 1.1 of the Act without the written permission of the Registry.

I agree and understand that the Registrar will register a Caveat against the rental property for the duration of the protection period. Upon expiry of the protection period, the Registrar will discharge the Caveat from the rental property.

How the City of Calgary undermines this section of the Act:

• Development Permit will not be issued until the proposed condo plan is submitted for the project.