The City of Lethbridge has received feedback on phase two of the Land Use Bylaw Renewal Project. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

City of Lethbridge receives ‘impressive’ level of feedback to Land Use Bylaw

Sep 16, 2025 | 2:33 PM

The City of Lethbridge says it has heard from thousands of residents and community stakeholders, and that it will all help to inform future policies.

Phase Two of consultations for the Land Use Bylaw (LUB) Renewal Project has wrapped up, and a What We Heard report was submitted to city council this week.

Dozens of engagement opportunities were held between January and July this year, including online surveys, in-person events, and advertisements.

Mayor Blaine Hyggen says he was pleased to see such strong levels of input.

“The level of public participation in this phase of the Land Use Bylaw Renewal has been impressive,” says Hyggen. “It’s a clear reflection of how engaged and invested our residents are in the future of Lethbridge. Council was proud to support an engagement plan that put community voices at the centre, and we’re grateful to everyone who took the time to get involved.”

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Phase two focused on areas such as housing and commercial developments, the economy, downtown, parking, notifications, and direct control districts.

Over 90 per cent of survey respondents said they are very or somewhat concerned about housing affordability, and when asked what the City could do to improve this, the top answer was to lower property taxes (31 per cent).

Some of the other feedback mentioned in the report includes:

• The current Land Use Bylaw is complex and difficult to understand.
• People wanted to be able to access a diverse range of housing to meet their needs, from single-detached housing to apartments.
• 30% do not feel safe in downtown, especially when walking.
• To increase housing affordability, residents wanted more housing type variation and an easier approval process.
• People thought there should be fewer barriers to zoning and less political interference in development.
• People wanted Downtown to contain more grocery stores and be focused on walking and biking.
• The majority of people believed businesses should be able to decide how much parking they provide, rather than the City deciding for them.
• The majority of people agreed with reducing the number of residential districts from 16 to five.
• The majority of people agreed with creating a new use to regulate ‘short-term’ accommodations.

Ross Kilgour, Senior Community Planner and Project Manager, says, “The insights we gathered in Phase Two will directly inform how we approach drafting the new LUB. It will help us build a bylaw that reflects the kind of communities Lethbridge residents want to live, visit and do business in.”

Phase one focused on the regulation of “social uses,” such as shelters, supportive housing and soup kitchens.

Phase three will consist of writing the new Land Use Bylaw. This is expected to take around one year, and the City says it is a large and complex legal document.

Once the new proposed LUB is ready, phase four will see residents and stakeholders review the changes and provide feedback before city council can hold a public hearing process.

You can read the full What We Heard Report #2, or check out a summarized version.