Street Lighting Design Authorization Conditions for New Subdivisions

BILD Calgary Region Industry Update 2026 – 42

In collaboration with BILD Calgary Region, The City of Calgary’s Street Lighting & Electrical team has developed the attached Street Lighting Design Authorization Conditions document to support greater consistency and address safety and legislative compliance requirements associated with street lighting infrastructure in new subdivisions.

The document provides clarification regarding the roles, responsibilities, processes and requirements applicable to Developers, Prime Consultants and approved third-party Street Lighting Design Permit Holders throughout the design, construction and post-construction phases of a project.

I would like to thank The City of Calgary’s Street Lighting & Electrical team for its collaboration, engagement and continued efforts in working with industry to provide greater clarity around street lighting design responsibilities, compliance expectations, and project delivery requirements.

Key Requirements

BILD members are encouraged to review the document in its entirety. Key items include:

• Project Initiation: The City must be notified of the selected street lighting designer a minimum of 15 business days before the UIDP Co-Location meeting. Failure to provide the required information by the deadline will result in the City being automatically assigned as the street lighting designer on a cost recovery model.
• Utility Line Assignments / Utility Alignment Permits: Approved Street Lighting Design Permit Holders are responsible for maintaining compliance with City bylaws and UAP requirements and conditions. The document also establishes a process for addressing non-compliant ULA submissions.
• Outstanding Pre-2026 ULAs: The City will provide a list of non-compliant ULA applications by September 30, 2026, with outstanding applications to be resolved by December 31, 2026.
• Record Drawings: Record drawings must be submitted in authenticated PDF and CAD formats. Failure to submit an acceptable record drawing within 90 days of construction completion may result in automatic termination of the consultant’s Street Lighting Design Permit, subject to the extension process described in the document.
• FAC’d Areas and Third-Party Utility Poles: The document clarifies circumstances where the City retains design authority, including work involving existing FAC’d street lighting infrastructure, third-party utility poles and certain connections to existing ENMAX infrastructure.
• Non-Standard Installations: Projects involving non-standard materials, custom electrical wiring configurations or atypical utility alignments require early engagement with the City and may remain under the City’s design authority.
• Pre-FAC Responsibilities: Developers, Prime Consultants and street lighting consultants are required to report specified matters during the pre-FAC warranty period, including utility strikes, underground utility locate concerns and known incidents of wire theft.
• Design and Construction Deliverables: The document establishes submission timelines and requirements for Co-Location, IFR, RE-IFR, IFC, UAP and record drawing packages, as well as construction administration responsibilities.
• Construction Meetings: Approved Street Lighting Design Permit Holders are encouraged to begin attending the identified construction meetings immediately; attendance becomes mandatory January 1, 2027.

Action Required

BILD members, developers, consulting engineers, and Street Lighting Design Permit Holders are encouraged to circulate the attached document to the appropriate project teams and review the requirements carefully when planning and delivering new subdivision projects.

Particular attention should be given to the required project initiation notification, ULA/UAP compliance, record drawing submissions, City-designated scopes of work, and applicable UIDP submission timelines.

Questions regarding the authorization conditions should be directed to The City of Calgary Street Lighting & Electrical team at streetlighting@calgary.ca.

For any questions to BILD Calgary Region, please contact m.mohamad@bildcr.com