2026 Development Agreement – Street Lighting Design Process Change

BILD Calgary Region Bulletin 2026 – 17

On January 30, 2026, the 2026 Development Agreement Standard Terms and Conditions (DA) came into effect.

As part of the 2026 DA, Part 15 – Street Lighting, Walkway Lighting and Reserve Pathway Lighting, has been updated. Specifically, 15.01 now states:

“Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the Director, Mobility, the Developer must arrange for The City to design all public street lighting and electrical infrastructure required within the Development Area, as well as outside the Development Area as may be required as a condition of subdivision or development approval or as otherwise required by this Agreement. Notwithstanding that The City shall design all street lighting and electrical infrastructure, the Developer shall be responsible for all design costs. For clarity, The City utilizes a cost recovery model in respect of all design costs.”

Following feedback from BILD and joint workshops with City of Calgary Administration, the City of Calgary has reviewed BILD’s input and refined its approach to street lighting design. The following clarifications reflect the outcomes of these discussions.

1. For 2026, developers may choose to use The City of Calgary or a third-party design consultant with a valid and subsisting Street Lighting Design Permit as issued by The City. This memo serves as the written approval to utilize third-party design consultants, and no other written approval will be required.
2. Notwithstanding the developer-choice for street light design, notification of the street light designer (either The City of Calgary or a third-party consultant), is required a minimum of 15 business days before the Underground Residential Distribution Integrated Design Process (UIDP) Co-Location meeting.

This notification is required directly to streetlighting@calgary.ca, separately from the UIDP checklist, and must include the following:

1. 1. Subdivision name and phase #
   2. The developer’s legal entity and contact information
   3. The prime consultant’s company name and contact information
   4. The street lighting & electrical design consultant (i.e., The City of Calgary Street Lighting & Electrical department or an approved Street Lighting Design permit holder)

Please Note: Failure to identify any of the preceding requirements by the deadline will result in the automatic assignment of street lighting design to The City of Calgary. The day following the missed deadline (i.e., fourteen (14) business days prior to the UIDP Co-Location meeting) The City of Calgary will provide a fee letter to the Developer via email informing them of The City of Calgary’s automatic assignment as designer. For clarity in respect to design costs, The City of Calgary utilizes a cost recovery model.

2027 Street Lighting Design Approach

The 2027 approach to street lighting will be outlined in the 2027 DA. The proposed path forward is to maintain a developer‑choice model in greenfield developments, whereby developers may elect to engage either The City of Calgary or a third‑party design consultant for street lighting design. In the absence of formal notification, The City of Calgary will continue to serve as the default designer.  Street lighting processes remain unchanged in established areas where City of Calgary owned street lighting assets already exist.

For questions or clarification to The City of Calgary, please direct inquires to Michael Gray, Senior Leader, Street Light & Electrical at streetlighting@calgary.ca or Lawrence Wong, Manager of Development Engineering at Lawrence.Wong@calgary.ca

For questions to BILD, please contact me at m.mohamad@bildcr.com

BILD extends its gratitude to all participants who contributed to the review of the street lighting design process.

CLICK HERE for the City of Calgary bulletin confirming the 2026 and 2027 approach.