This Old House: New Rules Need Not Apply

If you have a house built before March 16, 1970, the City of Calgary Planning Department has some good news. All the usual setback requirements in the current Land Use Planning Bylaw don't apply.

There's no requirement to keep a 1.2 meter sideyard strip free and clear of any buildings, or to keep any building 7.5 meters away from the rear lot line. More modern houses need to abide by these rules, but for older buildings these do not apply.

According to the Planning Department, it was a free for all before the 1970's where theoretically a builder could have placed a structure anywhere on a lot.

What happened on  March 16, 1970? City Council passed Development Control Bylaw No. 7839 ushering a new era in Calgary's development.

This old house in Capital Hill was built in 1951, so the building doesn't need to be 1.2 meters away from the side property boundary. The City stamped the Real Property Report with a Certificate of Compliance.

The usual building requirments specified in today's bylaws will apply if the old structure is pulled down and a new one built, or significant renovations are made.

Air Conditioning Units - Are They on the Wrong Side?

June 1, 2008 - it's a date that every air conditioner installer should know. On that date the City of Calgary started to regulate the position of air conditioning units through Land Use Bylaw 1P2007:

Projections Into Side Setback Area

337.10 - Central air conditioning equipment may project a maximum of 1.0 metres into a side setback area:

(a) for a Contextual Semi-detached Dwelling and a Semidetached Dwelling, only where the side setback area is on the street side of a corner parcel; and

(b) for all other uses:
  (i) when located on a corner parcel; or
  (ii) where at least one side setback area is clear of all central air conditioning equipment, window wells and portions of the building measured from grade to a height of 2.4 metres.
 
In everyday english, a 1.2 meter strip of land on one side of the house must be clear.

What if you have an old AC unit that doesn't follow this rule? Will you need to move the AC unit in order to get a Certificate of Compliance for a Real Property Report?

If the air conditioning unit was installed prior to June 1, 2008, there were no bylaw rules pertaining to air conditioning equipment and therefore, proof of installation would be required to confirm the installation date.

Acceptable forms of proof are:

    An official receipt or invoice showing the installation date (not the purchase date) of the equipment.
    The builder’s purchase agreement showing record of air conditioning installation.

Note there are window wells in the 1.2 sideyard setback on the other side of the AC Unit, this would not pass the current bylaw. Luckily, the owner kept the original receipt from the installer and the City issued a Certificate of Compliance.

If you've lost the documentation, or the offending AC unit was installed after June 1, 2008, a Development Permit for relaxation is required to make the unit compliant.If you do have the invoice, the air conditioning unit can stay in the sideyard setback, it can even be placed right up to the property line.