Planning and Building Services Open Houses

Information

The City of St. Catharines runs open houses to support public consultation related to planning projects, Official Plan amendments and zoning by-law amendments.

To participate in an Online Open House via Zoom or by telephone, please read the following information:

All requests must be received in advance of the meeting.
Online Open Houses will be held using Zoom (Zoom is a free online meeting tool).

Visit zoom.us to learn more about Zoom.
To participate, you are responsible for accessing Zoom on your device (i.e. laptop, PC, mobile phone, tablet) and ensuring that your device meets the minimum technical requirements needed to run Zoom.

Online Open Houses will be broadcast live on YouTube (stcatharines.ca/YouTube) and an archived recording of the meeting will be available on the City's website.
To ensure optimal audio and visual representation, participants will be limited to one individual speaking at a time.

Electronic Participation

Those wishing to participate in online open houses must register by completing the online form for the open house they wish to attend before the date specified in the meeting notice.

Only one individual will be permitted to speak at a time and group delegations are not permitted.

Participants are not permitted to share visuals or materials during an online open house.

However, materials may be submitted in advance for the Planner to share during the open house and must be received at least one day prior to the open house.

Materials

If participants want to share any visual material, graphics, power points etc., the materials must be submitted to the planner no later than the day prior to the Open House.
All written submissions will become part of the public record for the application.
Copies of all submitted plans and documents may be viewed by contacting the Planning and Building Services Department or by navigating to stcatharines.ca/development. Please note that the information submitted with any application is preliminary. Additional, revised, or further refined information will be uploaded via the link above as it becomes available.

Test Session

Participants must take part in a brief test session with City staff in advance of an online open house. Test sessions are to ensure everyone is able to successfully participate in the meeting using the Zoom platform.
Testing will cover the audio and video quality of the participant's device; reviewing the process for the participant to join the meeting; and reviewing the participant process. During the test session, City staff will also discuss the process for submitting visuals or materials for inclusion in the Open House.
The test session should take less than 15 minutes to complete.
Other members of the public may also participate in the test session.
Once you have registered for an online open house, City staff will contact you via email with your test session information.

Upcoming Open Houses

City Initiated Official Plan Amendment (OPA 39)

The Planning and Building Services Department has initiated an amendment to the City of St. Catharines Official Plan (The Garden City Plan) to address recent Provincial changes to the Planning Act, including updates to Site Plan Control and permissions for additional residential units (accessory dwelling units).

The key elements of the Amendment include:

Recognizing that two additional residential units (accessory dwelling units) are now permitted within detached, semi-detached, or townhouse dwellings
Providing additional exemptions from Site Plan Approval
Updating complete application requirements for development proposals
Establishing a process to amend or revoke pre-submission consultation letters issued prior to July 1, 2023

Details of Online Open House

Date: Thursday, May 11, 2023
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: To be held electronically via Zoom
Members of the public will be able to watch proceedings through the City’s YouTube Channel.

Residents can participate in three different ways:

By mailing your comments/questions or by e-mailing to Taya Devlin, tdevlin@stcatharines.ca, no later than Wednesday, May 10. All written submissions will become part of the public record for this application.
By registering to participate electronically via Zoom by no later than Monday, May 8.
By registering to participate by telephone by no later than Monday, May 8. Please call 905.688.5601, Ext. 1709 and leave a message with Taya Devlin including your name and phone number. Staff will respond to your voicemail prior to the Online Open House to provide you with the call-in number for the event and additional information about the process.

Electronic Participation

Those wishing to participate electronically via Zoom video-conferencing technology must register by completing our online form before the date specified above. Only one individual will be permitted to speak at a time and group delegations are not permitted.

Participants are not permitted to share visuals or materials during the open house. However, materials may be submitted in advance for the Planner to share during the open house and must be received no later than Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

Test Session

The mandatory test session will take place on Wednesday, May 10, at 10 a.m.