West Elbow Local Area Plan (WELAP)
ABOUT LOCAL AREA PLANS
Local Area Plans set the vision for growth and change in a group of communities over the span of 30+ years. A Local Area Plan provides guidance and direction on development, investment, and community improvements that residents, landowners, builders/developers, city planners and councillors can commonly refer to when new ideas are proposed for the area. Local area plans exist to support communities as they change
WEST ELBOW LOCAL AREA PLAN IN SUNALTA
Sunalta is one of 16 communities included in the West Elbow Local Area Plan (WELAP), a long-term strategy by the City of Calgary to guide growth and development over the next 30 years. The plan covers neighbourhoods between the Bow River, Elbow River, and Crowchild Trail in the southwest quadrant of the city.
As of June 2024, the West Elbow Local Area Plan has been approved by Calgary City Council. This plan helps guide how Sunalta evolves, ensuring future development respects community character while supporting thoughtful growth.
You can view the full West Elbow Local Area Plan document here.
The Sunalta Planning and Development Committee (SPDC) will continue to reference this plan when reviewing development proposals in the community.
OTHER IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
Heritage Guidelines for Sunalta
Heritage resources and heritage assets are valued parts of our communities and Calgary as a whole. Both individually and collectively they contribute to community character and help create a sense of identity and place. Heritage tells the story of past generations for present and future generations. Heritage conservation is part of good city building and provides both economic and environmental benefits.
Note: The Heritage Guidelines for Sunalta are included in Section 2.6 of the West Elbow Local Area Plan.
Sunalta Area Redevelopment Plan (SARP)
The Sunalta Area Redevelopment Plan was first drafted in consultation with the community and approved by City Council in 1988. After three years of community engagement, the Part II Transit Oriented Development Area amendment was approved in 2009, the most recent revisions of this plan were in May 2019.
The SARP defines and communicates the community context to developers and the community at large. The SPDC uses this document as a general guide on how to form its expressions of support, its critical comments, and its objections to any particular application.
Sunalta Terms of Reference (Sunalta ToM):
The Sunalta ToM was first ratified by the Board of Directors in November 2013 and revised in January 2018. The purpose of the Sunalta Terms of Reference is to outline the conditions laid out in the SARP which allows for the earning of bonus density through cash contributions to a community enhancement fund, the Sunalta Community Investment Fund. This ensures that developers are held to a standard of supporting communities in adding amenities as density increases.
Sunalta Community Investment Fund
West Village Area Redevelopment Plan (WVARP):
The West Village Area Redevelopment Plan was first drafted in consultation with the community and approved by City Council in 2010. The WVARP provides the vision and guiding strategic policies through which this under utilized commercial area will be transformed. The West Village Plan area extends northward from the new Sunalta LRT Station and so provides an ideal venue for the implementation of a mixed use, pedestrian and transit-oriented, sustainable urban community on a former brownfield site.
