Jennifer Dobbin Consulting

08/04/2026

07/08/2026

i think that’s the point.

05/30/2026

One of the most expensive assumptions I see business owners make is:

"If it's an industrial property, my business should be allowed there."

Unfortunately, it's not always that simple.

I've worked with business owners who signed leases, invested in improvements, and only discovered land use issues when they applied for a business licence.

A quick review before signing a lease can save months of frustration later.

I wrote a short article about some of the common issues I see and how to avoid them:

https://dobbinconsulting.ca/planning-challenges-with-industrial-operations-in-calgary/

Industrial Land Use Compliance Calgary | What Business Owners Need to Know

05/03/2026

Lovely day for a Jane's Walk on Restrictive Covenants in Banff Trail today! Well presented and great discussions. Excellent location with solid examples of infill redevelopment density. Photo below shows a purpose built rental that fits in well with a residential neighbourhood - w 2-bedroom upper townhome suites with basement suites below.

04/22/2026

Interesting listening to Council yesterday talking about not allowing Direct Control (DC) applications to establish a strong policy conflict on Restrictive Caveats in areas like Parkdale and Banff Trail. Then they rejected two DC applications. Essentially removing the mechanism previous Council's have used to allow developers to get the caveats removed.

Many of these Restrictive Covenants were put in place by the City of Calgary over 100 years ago, restricting the lands to allow only one building on them. Every garage in these areas is a breach of the Caveat, but neighbours to redevelopment projects are using the Restrictive Covenant to stop new multi-family and mixed use builds.

The Province and the City need to address these Restrictive Covenants as a whole. They conflict with the Local Area Plan and Area Redevelopment Plans in the area that propose multi-storey, multi-family development in Transit Oriented Development (TOD) areas.

Now that Council is rejecting DCs needed to establish a clear conflict so the landowner can then go to Provincial Court to have the Restrictive Covenant removed, there needs to be a path forward soon or these areas will remain sterilized for development.

Bottom line right now? Include land planning reviews in your due diligence before purchasing individual parcels or assemblies in inner-city / established area communities and don't assume you can remove the caveat with a DC rezoning.

Know cluster areas of these Restrictive Covenants include: Banff Trail, Capital Hill, Tuxedo (less prevalent but some clusters)., Parkdale, Mount Royal, St. Andres Heights, Montgomery (parts), Hillhurst, West Hillhurst, Hounsfield Heights / Briar Hill, Altadore, Killarney, and older sections of North Glenmore Park. This list is not complete, but a general guide.

If you would like assistance with a pre-purchase planning review, contact us and we'll help you understand what you can build on a parcel, what is likely to get approved, and if a Restrictive Caveat is going to interfere with your development plans.

02/19/2026

That's good news! We need more social housing investment from all levels of government. :)

We’re taking another step to enabling more non market housing in Calgary.

Today, we announced the second and final round of Housing Capital Initiative (HCI) funding. With $29.3 million awarded to six non profit partners, the HCI is supporting 566 new non-market homes, bringing the total impact to over 1,000 homes across 15 projects.

Thank you to our partners for helping build more inclusive, affordable communities for Calgarians.

Learn more at: https://newsroom.calgary.ca/city-awards-293-million-to-create-566-non-market-homes-through-housing-capital-initiative/

01/27/2026

So proud of this development! Dobbin Consulting was the Development Manager for the project and it is nominated for the Architecture Daily Building of the Year awards! Please register and vote for the project!

Vote for Carisbrooke Residence / DAAS – Design and Architecture Studio

10/18/2025

Tired of people telling us that building more housing isn’t part of the solution because the new housing units are too expensive so they aren’t helping the housing crisis. Alberta needs hundreds of thousands more housing units every year for the next decade to catch up with demand.

We appreciate that the new 8-unit housing project in your neighborhood still seems too expensive (you’re right it is!) but no housing prices will become more affordable if we don’t keep building them. We just need to give the building phase more time (and also encourage our government to do more)!

Historically, developers don’t build affordable housing out of the goodness of their hearts- because profit is the primary objective of development companies. But there are ways to regulate and incentivize both developers and landlords to support supply and affordability: zoning, government grants and programs, tax incentives, strengthening tenant protections, landlord licensing etc

Learn more here: https://alphahousecalgary.com/vacancy-rates-rent-control-and-incentivizing-housing-supply/

09/24/2025

Excellent information on the role that all levels of government could take on in addressing the housing crisis using public housing. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We just have to apply proven techniques and leverage the power of government borrowing.

77.1K likes, 1179 comments. “The 100 Year old Solution to the Housing Crisis, come learn about Vienna’s Social Housing program and the Gemeindebauten. Wien”