Feasibility & strategy
What the current zoning allows, what the plans and policies support, and the realistic routes — rezoning, a site-specific approach, or a redesigned project.
Rezoning support that gives your project its best case.
Sometimes the project is right and the zoning is wrong. Rezoning — formally, an amendment to the land use bylaw — is how that changes. It is a public, political process decided by council, and it rewards a well-built application. We prepare the case: the rationale, the concept drawings and the presentation materials, for Edmonton and Strathcona County.
Start with a free zoning check. We tell you what’s possible before you pay for drawings.
01 The basics
What rezoning is
Zoning sets what can be built on a lot. When a proposal does not fit the current district — more units than the district allows, a different housing form, a commercial use on a residential lot — the options are to change the project, or to ask the municipality to change the zoning. That request is a rezoning application, and the decision is made by council after a public process that includes administration review and, typically, a public hearing.
Two things are worth saying plainly. First, no one can promise an outcome — council decides, and neighbours get a say. Second, what you can control is the quality of the application: whether the proposal is well designed, whether the rationale answers the policy questions administration will ask, and whether the presentation makes the project easy to understand. That is the part we do.
Not every project needs rezoning. Many fit with a development permit, a relaxation of a specific rule, or a smarter design. The feasibility check comes first, so you only start a rezoning if it is genuinely the path.
02 What we prepare
What a rezoning application needs
Planning rationale
The written case for the change: how the proposal fits municipal policy, the surrounding context, and servicing — the document administration and council actually read.
Concept drawings
Site plans, massing and concept layouts that show what the new zoning would make possible, at the scale of the neighbourhood.
Presentation materials
Clear boards and decks for pre-application meetings, open houses and the public hearing — the proposal, presented as a proposal.
Application coordination
Assembling the application package and responding to administration’s questions as the file moves through review.
Design follow-through
When the rezoning succeeds, the same team carries the project into development and building permits.
03 Process — 04 steps
How it works
01
Free
Free feasibility check
We review the lot, the current zoning and your goal, and tell you honestly whether rezoning is needed — and whether it has a real case.
02
Pre-application stage
Early discussions with municipal planners, and concept work that tests the proposal before the formal application.
03
Application & rationale
The full package is prepared and filed: rationale, concept drawings and supporting material.
04
Hearing & decision
We prepare the presentation materials for the public process and support the file through to council’s decision.
04 Common questions
Questions, answered
If your project fits the current zoning, a permit is enough — rezoning would be wasted effort. If it does not fit, a permit cannot fix that. The feasibility check sorts out which situation you are in, at no cost.
Longer than a permit — it is a bylaw change with a public process, measured in months, and timelines vary by municipality and by proposal. We lay out the realistic sequence for your case at the start, including the municipal fees that apply at each step.
Anyone who guarantees you an outcome is not being straight with you. What we can do is assess the proposal against the municipality’s own policies, tell you where it is strong and where it is exposed, and build the strongest application the facts support.
Public notification and a hearing are normal parts of the process — nearby residents are informed and can speak. A proposal that is designed with its context in mind, and presented clearly, handles that scrutiny far better than one that surprises people.
→ Keep exploring
Other services
Development permits
Zoning checked first, then a complete application prepared and filed.
Building permits
Full drawing packages that meet the Alberta Building Code.
Secondary & garden suites
Legal suites designed and permitted, top to bottom.
Tenant improvements
Permits and drawings for commercial build-outs.
Free Zoning check — No obligation
Thinking about rezoning? Start with the honest version.
Tell us the address and what you want to build. We will tell you what the zoning allows today and what a change would involve.
Phone
825-966-3884
Email
innovapermits@gmail.com
Innova Drafting & Permits Services — Edmonton & Sherwood Park, Alberta.