DRAFT NEW OFFICIAL PLAN FOR THE CITY OF ST.CATHARINES 
(THE GARDEN CITY PLAN)

The Official Plan is the City’s long term land use plan. It sets out where and what lands can be used for (low/high density housing, retail, industry, institutional, etc.), how they may be developed, how they are connected and interact. It affects how the City will look in the future, how the community and all its neighbourhoods will function, and the manner in which residents live, work and recreate.

After an extensive review process, the Planning Services Department has prepared a Draft new Official Plan for the municipality, known as the Garden City Plan.  It is the culmination of an extensive public participation process, the review and evaluation of existing Official Plan policy, other relevant municipal policy and plans, upper tier government and agency land use policies and plans, and the future needs of the City.

The vision and guiding principles of the Draft new Official Plan emphasize more compact mixed use and integrated development, innovative and sustainable urban design, protection and promotion of cultural and natural heritage features, agricultural lands, greening of the City, and a more connected useable pedestrian first public realm.  Click here to view the Draft new Official Plan document.

The Planning Services Department is hosting a series of neighbourhood public meeting/open house sessions to present and receive input on the Draft Plan. Please come out and provide your input. These meetings are to be held at various locations throughout the City.  The meetings are scheduled as follows;

PUBLIC MEETINGS

 

DATE	TIME	MEETING TYPE	LOCATION
Wed., February 10,2010	2 to 4 pm /  7 to 9 pm	OPEN HOUSE	City Hall, 50 Church Street, Committee Room #1, Third Floor
Tues., February 16, 2010	7 to 9 pm	Presentation/Public meeting	City Hall, 50 Church Street, Council Chambers, Third Floor
Wed., February 17, 2010	7 to 9 pm	Presentation/Public meeting	Grantham Lions Club, 732 Niagara Street
Tues., February 23, 2010	7 to 9 pm	Presentation/Public meeting	Westdale School, 130 Rykert Street
Wed., February 24, 2010	7 to 9 pm	Presentation/Public meeting	Woodland School, 1511 Seventh Street
Thurs., February 25, 2010	7 to 9 pm	Presentation/Public meeting	Briardale School, 1-A Caroline Street
Tues., March 2, 2010	7 to 9 pm	Presentation/Public meeting	Merritton Community Centre, 7 Park Street
Thurs., March 4, 2010	7 to 9 pm	Presentation/Public meeting	Sheridan Park School, 114 Linwell Road

A copy of the Draft new Official Plan is available via the City’s web site, the Planning Services Department at City Hall, and in all municipal libraries. Copies will also be available at the public meeting/open house sessions.

A deadline of March 15, 2010 has been set for receipt of formal written public comment on the Draft new Official Plan.  Formal written comment, or any questions, concerns, and input on the Draft Plan should be directed to the undersigned as follows:

                      Bruce Bellows, Policy Planner, 905 688 5600, ext. 1706, bbellows@stcatharines.ca  

                      Richard Tapp, Policy Planner, 905 688 5600, ext. 1709, rtapp@stcatharines.ca

 
City of St. Catharines
  Planning Services Dept.
  P.O. Box 3012, 50 Church St.
    St. Catharines, ON
      L2R 7C2


MAJOR POLICY DIRECTIONS

The following provides the overall context and direction for proposed changes to existing Official Plan policy contained within the Draft new Official Plan.

Legislative Framework

Local Official Plans must be consistent with Provincial land use legislation. The Greenbelt Plan, Provincial Policy Statements (PPS) and Places to Grow (P2G) establish certain parameters on local land use planning.  Local Official Plans must also be in conformity with the upper tier Region of Niagara Policy Plan

The Greenbelt Plan effectively freezes the City’s urban area boundary, establishing a finite area in which to accommodate projected future population and employment growth.
 
The PPS emphasizes more compact, urban centered growth, reuse and rehabilitation, greater service and infrastructure efficiencies, protection and enhancement of the natural environment, and design initiatives to better support and integrate natural, cultural, heritage and public realm amenities and opportunities within the built environment.

The P2G identifies the majority of downtown St. Catharines as an Urban Growth Centre (UGC), representing a designated catalyst location for transit supportive residential and employment growth, and infrastructure investment. The UGC designation includes the existing downtown Central Business District (CBD) and also includes lands to the east, between Geneva Street and Page Street, and Gale Crescent and Welland Avenue.  The Draft new Official Plan expands the Downtown to take in these lands to the east.

The P2G establishes minimum population and employment density targets within the UGC, and on all other vacant greenfield lands in the City.  The minimum density targets represent a 25-30 % increase to existing densities within the municipality.

A number of amendments to the Official Plan must be made to incorporate Provincial policy, including the establishment of minimum density targets.

A number of amendments to the Official Plan must also be made to ensure conformity with the upper tier Region of Niagara Policy Plan. The Region has just completed a conformity exercise to bring their Plan into conformity with Provincial Planning initiatives.  The amendment to the Regional Policy Plan to enact changes has yet to be formally approved by the Province, and may have bearing on future approval of certain policies to be reflected in the local Official Plan, as well as the timing for formal approval of the local Plan. 

Sustainable Development - Sense of Place 

The Provincial legislation represents a move towards a sustainable development planning framework. Sustainable planning supports the most efficient and wise use of land, resources and amenities; to protect, maintain, reuse, rehabilitate, integrate and enhance all our resources, and in doing so, to create livable, connected and healthy environments, and opportunities for all types of future growth for coming generations.

Sustainable planning also focuses on the need for greater interaction and integration between and within the physical, social, cultural, and economic environments, and interests. It is all these environments that combine to make up our character, fabric, identity, our sense of place.  Providing greater linkages and connections between them will enable better use of our resources and amenities, greater opportunities for all types of future growth, support a more connected and vibrant community, and maintain and enhance our sense of place.

Proposed new Official Plan policies strongly emphasize a sustainable development planning framework.

Growth Management

Urban Area Boundary

Included within the Provincial Greenbelt Plan boundary are all of the City’s designated agricultural lands, and as such, the Plan effectively freezes the City’s urban area boundary. The Greenbelt Plan itself is scheduled for Provincial review in 2015.  Prior to that, the Province may only consider changes to the Greenbelt Plan boundary under very special circumstances.

The Official Plan review is not contemplating any recommendation for review of the Greenbelt Plan and as such, no changes to the current urban area boundary.

Based on a municipal land needs assessment, and Region of Niagara growth forecasts, the City’s projected future population and employment growth may be accommodated within the current urban area.

The current urban area boundary was established in the early 1980’s.  It is seen as a defensible and permanent boundary providing for a definitive urban rural fringe.  Maintaining the boundary reflects long term goals and objectives of the municipality to protect the agricultural land base, and is in keeping with a sustainable development planning framework.

Residential Growth

With a finite urban area, and relatively little vacant left within the urban area, the City has little choice but to support more compact development to accommodate projected future population growth.  Based on current zoning and approvals, the existing vacant land supply will only support approximately half of all projected need for new dwelling units to the year 2031.

The Draft new Official Plan targets the following areas to absorb most of the future residential development needs.  Click here for a map of proposed future residential target areas.

Downtown/Downtown East (UGC addition)  - must establish minimum density standards to support P2G targets for provision of 1500 - 2000 new dwelling units.

Mixed Use Intensification Corridors/ Commercial Nodes - increase current residential densities within existing corridors and at existing commercial nodes; establish 5 new mixed use corridors to support residential intensification. 
 
Redevelopment/Reuse/Brownfield’s - redevelopment of the 2 existing hospital sites, reuse of a select number of occupied industrial properties located within or adjacent to residential neighbourhoods, and redesignation of Tourist Commercial lands at the Welland Canal and Glendale Avenue.

Existing Vacant Residential Lands - must establish a minimum density standard to support P2G density targets @ a minimum 10 units/acre; maintain/enhance densities on sites currently zoned for medium/high density housing, and on priority sites add minimum density provisions.

The emphasis on new residential development opportunities is directed towards transit supportive locations that are currently designed for a higher activity and intensity of use (downtown, major road corridors, commercial nodes), and also reuse of property to enhance compatible development and adaptive reuse opportunities.  Infill development opportunities within established neighbourhoods will remain, but will be regulated by type, scale and locational criteria to ensure compatibility of use and design.  Proposals for major change will be directed to identified growth areas.

Employment Growth

The City has a sufficient vacant industrial land supply to accommodate projected future employment land needs beyond the Plan time horizon of 2031. This supports consideration for redesignation of certain industrial lands for alternative uses.

Council directed the Plan review to address the potential expansion of the Louth Power Centre onto adjacent 26 acres of vacant industrial lands. 

Notwithstanding the above, the major emphasis of proposed Official Plan policy is to maintain the City’s existing supply of vacant industrial lands to support long term employment land needs.  Proposed policy will also enact a wider range of use permissions and design initiatives on the industrial lands to support opportunities for a more diverse employment base (clean, green, bio, tech. ,research, office, creative industries, etc), and attraction and retention of local candidate employees/future employers, and marketability.  Less emphasis will be placed on the large scale manufacturing sector.

Urban Design

With a finite urban area, and an increasingly more compact and mixed use environment, proposed Official Plan policy strongly emphasizes the greater use of urban design guidelines and standards as a means to control development. 

Urban design is seen as crucial to how the City looks and functions. It may best support compatibility of development; adaptive reuse, rehabilitation and redevelopment; protection/enhancement of heritage resources, the efficient use of resources and alternative standards, accessibility, and connections and linkages.

The City is currently undertaking an urban design study which will address both site and community design, as follows:

Site design - building design, height, massing, setbacks, façade, landscaping, access, parking, etc.

Community design  - relationship/function of development  to the street and surrounding environment; to facilitate connections and linkages within and between the built and natural environment to provide the optimal use of the public realm, community amenities and resources, and the integration of social, cultural and economic environs and interests within the land use plan.

Pending Council approval, the design study will be implemented through Official Plan policy, site plan control, and zoning regulations and guidelines.

Heritage/ Culture

As part of the Official Plan review process, existing heritage conservation policies are being reviewed with the intent to strengthen initiatives directed towards the  conservation, preservation, integration and enhancement of heritage features, amenities and landscapes within the built, natural and cultural environments, including identification and opportunities for ‘adaptive reuse’ of the built environment

Opportunities to better support and promote the integration of cultural landscapes, amenities, and resources within the land use planning framework, and specifically within the public realm through urban design initiatives, is also an emphasis of the Official Plan review.  Recommendations will be brought forward to support the dedication of a percentage of capital project funding and budgets to support cultural initiatives and greater integration of public art opportunities within the built and natural environment.

Transportation

Many concerns have been expressed through the review process with respect to increased traffic congestion, local safety, future road connections, parking and alternative transportation modes.

The City is to undertake a city wide transportation study in the near future.  The terms of reference have not yet been drafted, and the study won’t be complete prior to completion of the Official Plan review.  Planning staff will request that the following being included within the study terms of reference, and any related study recommendations to be implemented within the Official Plan at a later date:

• multi modal opportunities, connections, linkages
• road classifications and function
• future road connections, crossings
• alternative design standards
• reduced parking standards
• intra and inter regional transit

Downtown

There have been many studies over the years to support the revitalization of the downtown.  Some of the study recommendations have been adopted, most have not.
Notwithstanding, most of the studies point to common themes for revitalization of the downtown: more residential accommodation, diversify employment, greater investment in the public realm and design, promote heritage and better opportunities for cultural enterprise, enhanced connections within downtown and between adjacent neighbourhoods and natural heritage systems. Most of these themes are contained in the latest study completed, the Creative Cluster Master Plan, adopted in principle by Council in 2008.

The Draft new Official Plan supports the following:

• shrink the commercial core to support a continuous and concentrated commercial core environment, and at the same time to support an expanded residential transition and mixed use area outside the core area to accommodate increased residential opportunities.
• more specific residential density standards.
• clustering of employment uses and establishing higher density residential clusters.
• greater design initiatives for streetscape and public realm improvements and connections.
• encourage financial incentives for development/façade improvements (CIP programs), public/private partnerships, upper level government funding for infrastructure investments. 

Urban Growth Centre

As noted previously, the P2G identifies downtown as an urban growth centre (UGC), and which expands the traditional downtown CBD area to include lands to the east between Geneva Street and Page Street, and Gale Crescent to Welland Avenue.

The P2G establishes a minimum density target for jobs and/or people to be achieved in the UGC.  This target equates to approximately a 30 % increase to existing density, and represents the need to accommodate between 1500 and 2000 additional new housing units.

There is little vacant land remaining in the downtown, and much of the future housing   accommodation will have to occur through redevelopment, reuse, mixed use, and additional height.  The area to the east of downtown included within the UGC contains some larger older industrial sites which may provide major redevelopment opportunities and support for significant high density residential accommodation.  

Implementation

Prescriptive vs. Descriptive

Current Official Plan policy provides a more descriptive planning framework, allowing latitude of uses and density of development to be more accurately defined through zoning implementation.  With a finite and more compact urban area, proposed Official Plan policy and format will provide a more prescriptive and explicit identification of development opportunities and parameters, and in so doing, ensure consistency with Provincial land use legislation and expectancy for development opportunities and parameters. The Plan will also provide more explicit policy direction on the process to consider amendments.

Integrated Decision Making

Throughout the review process, much public comment focused on the perceived lack of a connected, accessible, accountable, and transparent municipal planning and decision making process, lack of communication and meaningful public participation, and little coordination and expectancy between City Hall, agencies, special interest groups, and the public.

Through the development of new Official Plan policy, emphasis will be placed on a more  integrated approach to land use policy, encouraging greater interaction within and between physical, natural, social, cultural and economic planning frameworks, programs and interests, and supporting a sustainable development planning framework.

Through the Plan review, recommendations will also be put forth to examine the organizational approach to decision making, with a view to ensuring a more meaningful public participation process and accountability at a neighbourhood level., involving residents early on in the approvals process, and an effective reporting and monitoring system to ensure all interests have been addressed and balanced.

Policy Implementation

The Draft new Official plan recommends both minor and major changes and revisions to current policy, and a new streamlined, integrated and prescriptive format to the Official Plan.  Notwithstanding, a number of recommendations from the Official Plan review will also require amendment to the City’s Zoning By-laws.  As provided in the Planning Act, these amendments must be completed within 3 years of the approval of the Official Plan.  However, given the significant changes proposed, they should be implemented as soon as possible after formal adoption of a new revised Official Plan.

CONTACT 

For any information, questions, comments, views, ideas, concerns, dialogue regarding the Official Plan review, please contact:

Bruce Bellows, Policy Planner, Planning Services Department        905-688-5601, ext.1706
                                                                                               bbellows@stcatharines.ca 
                                                                                              

Richard Tapp, Policy Planner, Planning Services Department         905-688-5601, ext.1709  
                                                                                               rtapp@stcatharines.ca
                                                                                               

Mailing Address :    

Planning Services Department
City of St. Catharines
P.O. Box  3012, 50 Church Street
St. Catharines, ON
L2R 7C2   

CURRENT OFFICIAL PLAN

Click here to access the City´s current Official Plan

(*Due to the file size of this document, it may take a few moments to download)