TO:        Members of Calgary City Council

FROM: Catharine Kavanagh, Western Stakeholder Director

     Daniel Liegmann, Junior Policy Analyst

DATE:  September 10, 2026

SUBJECT: Considerations Regarding Proposed Land Use Amendments to Support the Changing Needs of Schools

Cardus is a non-partisan think tank dedicated to clarifying and strengthening, through research and dialogue, the ways in which society’s institutions can work together for the common good.

The July 15, 2026 Calgary Planning & Development Services Report to the Infrastructure and Planning Committee entitled “Land Use Bylaw Amendments to Support the Changing Needs of Schools” proposed amendments which would primarily address two issues: facilitating the interim use of existing, unused schools, and easing regulations for modular classroom (portables) use. 1 1 City of Calgary, Land Use Bylaw amendments: Portable classrooms and interim uses key messages and FAQ (Calgary: City of Calgary, 2026), https://www.calgary.ca/content/dam/www/pda/pd/documents/calgary-land-use-bylaw-1p2007/land-use-bylaw-amendments-portable-classrooms-and-interim-uses-faq.pdf.

Regarding interim use of schools, changes to Section 25(1)(v) of the Land Use Bylaw would remove the requirement for a development permit or land use redesignation for use of an existing school building on an interim basis if the development in question “provide[s] a public benefit compatible with school board purposes”, 2 2 Planning and Development Services, Planning & Development Services Report to Infrastructure and Planning Committee 2026 July 15: Land Use Bylaw Amendments to Support the Changing Needs of Schools (Calgary: Planning and Development Services, 2026), https://pub-calgary.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=365985. which would include uses such as “libraries, recreation centres, daycares, and private or commercial schools.” 3 3 Planning and Development Services, Planning & Development Services Report to Infrastructure and Planning Committee 2026 July 15: Land Use Bylaw Amendments to Support the Changing Needs of Schools. This would greatly simplify the process for independent 4 4 Note on terminology: The proposed amendment to Section 25(1)(v) refers to “private” schools, because the City of Calgary’s Land Use Bylaw definitions include “School Authority – School”, which refers to a public, Catholic (separate), Francophone, or public charter school, and “School – Private”, which refers to K-12 educational programs as per the provincial Education Act other than those delivered by a school district, division, or public charter school.  Effective September 1, 2025, the provincial Education Amendment Act, 2025, came into effect, which formally changed the naming of “private” schools to “independent” schools. K-12 schools to use surplus school buildings on an interim basis, pending approval by the Joint Use Coordinating Committee (JUCC).

The proposed changes to Section 13(108.1) and 1032.1 would clarify the definition of a modular classroom, and ease bylaw requirements for schools wanting to add portables, which would ensure a faster and more efficient process for growing schools to increase their capacity without having to navigate additional approvals or exemptions at the municipal level.

Cardus recommends that Calgary City Council accept and pass the proposed amendments as detailed.

(1) The proposed amendments would address ongoing capacity challenges at schools in Calgary.

Alberta has recently experienced significant population growth, which has created challenges in rapidly expanding educational capacity to meet student enrolment numbers. Between the 2021-22 and 2024-25 academic years, more than 97,000 new K-12 students moved to Alberta. 5 5 “Student population statistics”, Government of Alberta, accessed September 3, 2026, https://www.alberta.ca/student-population-statistics, Table 3. This has particularly stretched the capacity of school boards in major metropolitan areas. The Calgary Board of Education website details that almost 70% of its 251 schools are over capacity and the system-wide utilization rate is over 95%, with an expected additional 8,360 students to enroll with the board by 2030. 6 6 “Ongoing Need for Learning Spaces”, Calgary Board of Education, accessed September 3, 2026, https://www.cbe.ab.ca/board-advocacy-mondernization-new-schools. Calgary’s Catholic schools are similarly stretched, continuing “to experience significant upward enrolment pressures” with district-level utilization sitting at 92.45%. 7 7 “2027-2030 Three-Year Capital Plan: Metro, Urban and Regional”, Calgary Catholic School District, accessed September 3, 2026, https://calgarycatholicschools.sharepoint.com/sites/public/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2Fpublic%2FShared%20Documents%2FPublic%2FDistrict%2FNews%2FReports%2FCapital%20Plan%2F2027%2D2030ThreeYearCapitalPlanSummary%2Epdf&parent=%2Fsites%2Fpublic%2FShared%20Documents%2FPublic%2FDistrict%2FNews%2FReports%2FCapital%20Plan&p=true&ga=1. In both the CBE and CSSD, these enrollment pressures are uneven across the city, with some schools full and on overflow status, 8 8 “Overflow Schools”, Calgary Board of Education, accessed September 3, 2026, https://www.cbe.ab.ca/overflow-schools. while other schools have a low utilization rate or have been declared surplus. 9 9 Calgary Board of Education, School Enrolment Report 2025-26 (Calgary: Calgary Board of Education, 2025), https://www.cbe.ab.ca/documents/f9d97a06-2c35-4042-8cad-f9ba590247d8/School-Enrolment-Report-2025-2026.pdf?fingerprint=ppb20260507070718.

Capacity challenges can also be addressed by embracing all the sectors of Alberta’s educational system, including independent schools. As small systems, these schools are able to identify capital needs, secure facilities, and accommodate students much more quickly than the government procurement process allows public school boards to complete new builds.

Every child who transfers to an independent school reduces classroom crowding in existing public schools. Thus, encouraging independent schools to launch, grow, and expand should be considered a key complement to all other strategies to minimize classroom crowding. The provincial government has already recognized this practice through its Independent School Capital program, which is supporting independent school communities in fast-tracking new builds or expansions through a matching grant program. 10 10 “Independent School Capital”, Government of Alberta, accessed September 3, 2026, https://www.alberta.ca/independent-school-capital.

Many independent schools already have extensive waitlists and with additional space, could accommodate dozens to hundreds of additional students. Yet the ability of independent schools to find facilities which are appropriately zoned is often a challenge. Current City of Calgary zoning regulations attest to that, with one of the most common designations for public schools, S-SPR, prohibiting independent school operation. For an independent school to operate in a surplus public school that is zoned S-SPR, it would currently require a land use redesignation, a costly process that takes a minimum of six months, requires a public hearing, and may further involve disposition of municipal reserve or school reserve designation from the land use title.

Existing school properties located in zones that do permit independent schools to operate as a discretionary use (including S-CI, S-CS, R-C1, R-C2, M-C1, M-C2, among others) would still require a change of use development permit to operate in the surplus school, a process which can involve hundreds of dollars in application costs, a lengthy paperwork process, and a minimum 10-12 week turnaround time.

This amendment would vastly increase the potential surplus school sites available to independent schools. Dispensing with the requirements for independent schools to secure a change of use development permit or a land use redesignation will save them substantial time, money, and paperwork. Despite only permitting interim use, this two-year interim window would still allow schools to more quickly become operational and accommodate students in a timely manner, while simultaneously seeking out permanent capital solutions. While JUCC approval is also required to authorize this interim use, this amendment will still significantly increase the potential for independent schools to operate where the possibility did not exist before.

(2) Greater access to interim use of surplus school sites for independent schools will enable greater educational diversity and serve unique communities’ educational needs.

Independent schools also complement the education system in Calgary by serving students from unique communities who have learning needs that often cannot be met in public schools, despite best efforts. For example, the current independent school landscape includes schools for children with autism (Janus Academy) or learning disabilities (Foothills Academy); students from a particular cultural, ethnic, or faith community (Gobind Sarvar Calgary, Calgary Jewish Academy); or students who best learn through a specific pedagogy like outdoors education (LYNX School) or boys- or girls-focused programming (North Point Schools). In the 2025-26 academic year, independent school enrollment in Alberta increased by 1.04%, nearly five times that of public school enrollment at 0.21%. 11 11 Author's calculations based on student population statistics provided by Alberta Education.

(3) Removing bylaw requirements for portables will also facilitate faster creation of expanded educational capacity.

Recognizing the purpose of portables to be temporary solutions which can be quickly implemented or adapted and thus removing requirements for them to adhere to bylaw requirements regarding specific quantities of bicycle parking, loading stalls, and drop-off and pick-up stalls, as well as landscaping practices, reduces the cost and timeline to install these classrooms and thus enables the accommodation of more students, faster. This means Calgary students and families will face less crowding in classrooms and more students will be able to attend their designated schools in their neighbourhoods.

Contact

We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and assist with future considerations on this issue. Please do not hesitate to contact us at ckavanagh@cardus.ca.