EDIT - this is old information and out of date. Mid block Rcg rules are changed as of 2022. These changes enable more development options in mid block locations.
The City experiment with the rowhouse zone continues. I think the planners are getting some negative feedback from the builders. I think the planners should have asked the builders before they went ahead and created the rules for the zone, because I doubt planners have a sense of marketability of homes.
The problem with RCG mid block lots is it only really allows super skinny stuff to be built, and the builders wont build that because they are paranoid, justifiably, that nobody will buy 14 ft wide townhouses.
It just so happens that 50ft multiples of land are not wide enough for three units, and 100 ft of land is no better for 6 units. To a builder, building 6 unsellable units is a major blunder. There are other zones that would allow a 100 ft mid block parcel to create 8 really good units, rather than 6 really skinny ones.
One of my favourite builders, rndsqr, has created a diagram showing this problem and presented it to the Calgary Planning Commission. I have pasted in the diagram here. Thanks rndsqr for putting forth such a sensible position.
This diagram shows how 6 skinny units wont work in a 100 ft parcel, but 8 units arranged differently would be great. It also highlights how on 100 ft, if a corner is accessible, the 8 units can be achieved. rndsqr has built that layout in the NW on 20 ave, designed by intertia. rndsqr and I are sharing intertia for design work on these projects. I am getting so tired of rcg related matters I am contemplating quitting townhouse building and pursuing simpler semi detached projects. I have two townhouse projects to build in my inventory, and these may be the last.