For municipalities & planners
The same process. A shorter site.
Modular doesn’t skip the Municipal Government Act. It does shorten the noisy part. Here’s what your planning, housing and council teams will want to know.
What you’d be reviewing
A known kit.
23
Homes
11 lower and 12 upper homes, around a shared courtyard, stacked two high.
~23
Weeks on site
Current estimate, from the start of site work to substantial completion. A construction management plan accompanies the permits.
25
Year term
Lease-to-own, starting when homes are ready for occupancy.
✓
Ordinary tax
Completed, occupied homes are assessed and taxed in the usual way under the MGA.
On site
Screws first. Then the lift.
Steel ground screwsSteel foundation shafts with a spiral blade, also called helical piles. A machine twists them into the ground to firm soil. No concrete to pour or cure. go into bearing soil: no basement, less spoil, a quieter excavation. A crane then sets each factory-finished home, lower homes first, then upper. Connections and finishing follow.
Neighbourhood disruption is the arrival, the lift and the set. A detailed construction management plan for traffic, noise, dust control and site security is submitted with the permit applications.
See the steps
Codes and approvals
What applies.
- Building code
- The project is designed to the NBC(AE) 2023The National Building Code, Alberta Edition 2023. It is the building code that applies in Alberta., in force since May 1, 2024, and the National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings 2020.
- Factory
- Modules are certified under CSA A277The Canadian standard for certifying buildings and modules built in a factory. An accredited third party checks the factory work. by an organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada. On-site work stays under municipal plan review and the Safety Codes Act.
- Permanent
- Once on permanent foundations and connected to municipal services, the homes are permanent buildings under the Alberta Building Code and the Safety Codes Act.
- Approvals
- Development permit (or confirmation of permitted use), building permit(s), servicing, development or encroachment agreements, and local engineering and off-site levies. Modular construction does not exempt the project from the MGA or the Land Use Bylaw.
- Site
- Parking, setbacks, landscaping and height are set with the host municipality and its bylaw.
What staff still review.
A simple checklist to track in your own review. Tick the boxes as you go.
Land
What a host municipality can contribute.
The project can proceed with land bought in the ordinary way. If a municipality can donate, or grant at nominal cost, a suitable parcel already in its inventory, such as a surplus civic lot or a leftover parcel, more of the monthly payment stays in the home instead of in the land.
A municipality isn’t asked to lend to households, operate the building or underwrite mortgages. Provincial programs such as the Affordable Housing Partnership Program may be worth exploring, depending on pricing, residents and local priorities. That’s separate from any land conversation.