Zoning Bylaw Renewal Initiative

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Writing a New Zoning Bylaw

Edmonton’s Zoning Bylaw is going through its first comprehensive overhaul in over 60 years. This is an opportunity to rethink what we regulate in terms of land development and whether we are regulating the right things.

Renewing the bylaw provides an opportunity to align city-building tools to ensure all Edmontonians and property owners have the necessary tools to build and experience the city envisioned in The City Plan.

Public Hearing Notice

City Council will consider the proposed new Edmonton Zoning Bylaw (Charter Bylaw 20001) and city-wide rezoning (Charter Bylaw 21001) at a statutory Public Hearing.

When: October 16, 2023, at 9:30am*
Where: Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square, Edmonton, AB

*Note: City Council may choose to extend the public hearing over a number of days based on the number of registered speakers.

Prepare for the Public Hearing by viewing the bylaw summaries and learning what the proposed zoning changes could mean for your property, Edmonton’s neighbourhoods and businesses and the environment.

Purpose of the New Bylaws

Charter Bylaw 20001: Edmonton Zoning Bylaw

To repeal the current Edmonton Zoning Bylaw (Bylaw 12800) and replace it with a new Edmonton Zoning Bylaw (Charter Bylaw 20001).

Edmonton’s Zoning Bylaw is an important regulatory tool that determines what can be built where. The proposed new bylaw aligns with The City Plan’s direction to support Edmonton in becoming a healthy, urban, climate-resilient city of 2 million people.

Charter Bylaw 21001: City-wide Rezoning

To rezone all properties located within Edmonton’s corporate boundaries from existing zones under Zoning Bylaw 12800 (current Zoning Bylaw) to their closest equivalent zones under Charter Bylaw 20001 (proposed new Zoning Bylaw), except Direct Control Zones. Find your proposed new zone using the online map.

The proposed rezoning is necessary to implement the new Zoning Bylaw by changing the zoning of properties city-wide to the new zones in the new Zoning Bylaw.

Affected Locations: All properties within the corporate boundaries of Edmonton, as outlined within the online map, the PDF map in Schedule ‘A’ of Charter Bylaw 21001 and listed in PDF format (33.98 MB) .

View the Bylaws

The proposed bylaws and accompanying reports can be viewed on edmonton.ca/meetings. Locate the City Council Public Hearing date (October 16, 2023) in the Agenda and Meetings section and then select the agenda link to view the bylaws and reports.

View the proposed new Zoning Bylaw with the rationale for the proposed regulations. Green text indicates major changes made since the May 2023 draft Zoning Bylaw.

If you require additional assistance accessing Council documents, please contact the Office of the City Clerk.

Get Involved

Access Resources

View the bylaw summaries and learn what the proposed zoning changes could mean for your property, Edmonton’s neighbourhoods and businesses and the environment by reading the Public Engagement Prep documents.

Know the Process

Check out the Public Hearing Playbook — a step-by-step guide that simplifies Land Use Statutory Public Hearings to make sure everyone has the tools to participate.

Watch the Meeting Online

Livestream the City Council Public Hearing on Council on the Web (select Council Chambers) or the Council Chambers YouTube channel. Captions for deaf or hard-of-hearing persons are available on both streams.

Register to Speak Virtually or In-person

Complete the request to speak form and the Public Hearing procedure will be made available to you. If you are interested in speaking, you are encouraged to register before the Public Hearing date as speaker order is determined by the order of registrations.

If you wish to designate someone to speak on your behalf, you must complete the Authorization to Speak on Someone's Behalf form .

Submit Written Comments

Send written comments to the Office of the City Clerk. All written submissions will be available for public review.

What’s Next

Pending the bylaws’ approval at the City Council Public Hearing on October 16, 2023, the new Edmonton Zoning Bylaw and city-wide rezoning will come into effect on January 1, 2024.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about the bylaws, connect with the Zoning Bylaw Renewal team by email (zoningbylawrenewal@edmonton.ca) or phone (311).

Public Engagement

Final phase (extended): June 1 to July 30, 2023 (now closed)

Previous public engagement: May 1 to May 31, 2023

View the What We Heard Report summarizing the May 2023 engagement and feedback.

Stay informed: subscribe to the City Building Newsletter

Initiative Goals

Develop a user-friendly Zoning Bylaw that is aligned with City policies and directions
Streamline and simplify Zoning Bylaw regulations and related services and processes
Rezone properties city-wide to align with the zones in the new Zoning Bylaw
Ensure a smooth transition to a new Zoning Bylaw and new online tools (technology)
Ensure Edmontonians are aware, educated and informed of the proposed changes and are invited to provide feedback

Learn More

What is Zoning?

Zoning is about:

What can be built where
Allowed types of building and activities
Implementing municipal city plans

Zoning is not about:

Regulating groups of people or behaviours
How buildings are built
Exactly what a building looks like

Zoning is everywhere—from parks and playgrounds to garden suites and the downtown core. Zoning determines what can be built where. It sets the rules for where new buildings should go, what types of buildings they can be and what types of businesses and activities can happen on a property.

Zoning guides growth in an orderly way to minimize conflicts between different activities and can improve the safety, public health and welfare of its citizens and the environment.

The Zoning Bylaw does not provide the rules for how a building is constructed, in terms of safety and construction materials—that is the role of the Alberta Building Code. It also does not determine the rules for business licensing—that is the role of the Business Licence Bylaw.

The City has a number of other bylaws aimed at ensuring the health, safety and wellness of Edmontonians.

Learn more about zoning:

Implementing The City Plan

The City Plan guides how land use, growth patterns and transportation and mobility systems can support an additional 1 million people in Edmonton. It was approved by City Council on December 9, 2020, after years of technical studies and engagements with Edmontonians, industry and stakeholders.

While The City Plan is a big-picture-vision for the city, District Planning and the Zoning Bylaw Renewal Initiative are about implementation.

The City Plan identifies districts as diverse, accessible collections of neighbourhoods that contain most of the services and amenities that Edmontonians rely on. District plans set the policy context (the geography, systems and networks) for the Zoning Bylaw Renewal Initiative’s regulatory changes.

Visit edmonton.ca/CityBuilding to explore the projects helping bring The City Plan’s vision to life.

Know Your Zone

Edmonton’s proposed new Zoning Bylaw proposes new zones citywide. Get familiar with the zones that apply to you by typing in the address of your residence, business, or favourite coffee shop using the map.

Explore the map

Have a question about your proposed zone? Contact us at zoningbylawrenewal@edmonton.ca.

Watch

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Initiative Details

An explanation of the steps the Zoning Bylaw Renewal Initiative is taking to make The City Plan’s big-picture vision of 2 million residents a reality.

Easier Development

The City is making the development process more balanced, accessible, consistent and equitable so more of those great ideas can become a reality.

The City Plan

The City Plan is Edmonton’s big-picture vision for the future, the steps we need to take to plan a healthy, urban and climate-resilient city of 2 million people.

Connect with Us

Stay Informed.

Sign up for updates on the Zoning Bylaw Renewal Initiative.

Subscribe to the newsletter

Zoning Bylaw Renewal Projects and Timeline

Details about the projects and timelines for the Zoning Bylaw Renewal Initiative.

Equity and the Zoning Bylaw

Renewing Edmonton’s Zoning Bylaw provides an opportunity to advance equity in Edmonton across a range of policy and zoning initiatives.

Zoning Bylaw Renewal Public Engagement

Information on past and upcoming public engagement opportunities for the Zoning Bylaw Renewal Initiative.

Zoning Bylaw Renewal Document Library

The Zoning Bylaw Renewal Initiative will be informed by a series of technical studies, guiding reports and engagement activities.

For More Information

Zoning Bylaw Team

Email	zoningbylawrenewal@edmonton.ca