HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-15-018 - Comprehensive Review of the Urban Design Manual - Work Program
REPORT TO: Planning & Strategic Initiatives Committee
DATE OF MEETING: March 30, 2015
SUBMITTED BY: Alain Pinard, Director of Planning
PREPARED BY: Dayna Lafferty, Planner (Urban Design) 519-741-2200
ext. 7324
WARD(S) INVOLVED: ALL
DATE OF REPORT: March 19, 2015
REPORT NO.: CSD-15-018
SUBJECT: COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE URBAN DESIGN
MANUAL WORK PROGRAM
___________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
Urban Design Manual generally in accordance
with the process outlined in report CSD-15-018.
BACKGROUND:
In June 2010, Staff presented to Council a revised Urban Design Manual that incorporated
changes to the general guidelines, the briefs and the standards sections (DTS-10-114).It has
been five years since the previous update and staff has prepared a work program that includes
updates to the Urban Design Manual over the coming years.
REPORT:
Context & History
The City of Kitchener has a long history of promoting urban design and has been recognized for
its efforts and successes. Similarly, through the Urban Design Awards program, the City
recognizes worthy projects that have demonstrated a superior level of urban design. The Urban
expectations with respect to comprehensive site design and provides the detailed specifications
associated with numerous functional aspects of site organization. Having design expectations
and requirements defined provides not only a minimum benchmark for site development but
also ensures equitable application of criteria from project to project. This is beneficial to both the
City and the development industry.
, there has been a desire to achieve a design-based
approach to planning and site development. Municipalities across Ontario have recognized
plicated them. As a result of continual
monitoring of the effectiveness of the guidelines along with the creation of new standards that
reflect best practices, both the general guidelines and the design standards contained in the
Urban Design Manual are updated from time to time.
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The City of Kitchener first approved an Urban Design Manual in 1999. It addressed specific
expectations and standards, primarily aimed at site development, to ensure a minimum level of
urban design for all new and redeveloped multi-residential, commercial, industrial and
institutional properties across the City. In 2000, the City received a Provincial Award for the
Manual. Following the 1999 Manual, Council approved minor updates and several new design
briefs addressing specific forms of development, such as drive through facilities.
In 2007, the approval of the Neighbourhood Design Initiative reflected three major changes to
the Urban Design Manual. A new Community Design section was added to address high level
design issues and a revised Neighbourhood Design section provided more detailed and relevant
ADesign Brief
for Suburban Development and Neighbourhood MixedUse Centres wasalsoaddedto provide a
comprehensive set of guidelinesforan updated subdivision review processandto proactively
address many issues that Council and the community identified at the time.
In 2010, Council approved further changes to the general guidelines and specific standards
sections of the Urban Design Manual (DTS-10-114).Revisions included the addition of Crime
Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) guidelines, text changes to reflect the
approved policy initiatives,a consolidations of previously approved City-initiated Urban Design
Briefs and updates to the design standards.Council has also approved numerous site-specific
Design Briefs over the last 10 years (such as the Deer Ridge Centre, School of Pharmacy, and
the Multi-Modal Hub).
Current Urban Design Manual
The existing manual is composed of three sections which include general guidelines for
community and neighbourhood design, design briefs and specific site standards for
development. The general guidelines, currently contained at the beginning of the manual are
intended to assist in creating a vision and design principles within a community. As a sample, a
guideline in the community design section is,
The site design standard section is intended to assist developers
in preparing development application submissions to the City of Kitchener. A sample guideline
in this section is,
metres grade drop from the right-of-
Moving Forward
It has been 5 years since the previous update to the Urban Design Manual.City staff have
identified areas within the Manual where more recent best practices in urban design could be
reflected, and areas where there is duplication or efficiencies that could be gained. A
comprehensive review of the urban design manual could provide greater certainty to what is
expected from the development industry and could result in process improvements for
applications. The development of revised guidelines and standards will allow the achievement of
a level of urban design that is appropriate for the different locations throughout the City and
incorporate urban design criteria that is consistent with standards found in other Ontario cities.
Now that Council has adopted the new Official Plan and since the Comprehensive Review of
the Zoning By-law (CRoZBy) & Station Study Area planning (PARTS) is currently underway, it is
ideal timing for the update to the Urban Design Manual to achieve consistency. There are
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
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components of the Zoning By-law that are informed by Urban Design Guidelines,zoning can
result in updates and improvements required to design standards, and there may be objectives
that are best reflected in either zoning or design guidelines. At the end of the day, the Urban
Design Manual requires updating as it is one of the tools used to implement the Official Plan
and to outline our city-building expectations during the continued growth of our community.
General Project Scope
Over the last many months, Planning staff has undertaken project planning and issue
identification, including hosting a development industry information session to introduce the
upcoming review process and to outline some of the issues/topics. There are a range of topics
that an urban design manual covers from the transportation and environmental aspects of
community design to the detailed standards and specifications for site lighting. Undertaking this
project is a significant effort. Given a number of considerations, including the magnitude of
other ongoing projects and new immediate priorities, staff recommend that the full
comprehensive review formally begin in the Fall of 2016.
In addition to two immediate priorities that Council has identified (Interim Tall Building
Guidelines and Infill/Intensification Guidelines); staff has identified three other topics that should
be prepared before the start of the comprehensive review in Fall 2016. Those Interim Updates
include improving our Accessibility standards (the City was a leader more than 15 years ago by
including barrier-free standards in our Manual but new legislation requires some updates);
updating and revising some standards for certain low rise residential townhouse and multiple
dwelling sites to assist with ongoing developments; and to update guidelines for Industrial
Employment Areas to link with the first stage of the new Zoning By-law. An outline of the
general recommended process is illustrated in the Figure below.
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
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Staff are working on the Interim Update regarding Tall Building Guidelines in 2015. Enhanced
infill/intensification guidelines will be one of the deliverables from a separate Residential
Intensification in Established Neighbourhoods Study that is proposed for 2015/early 2016 (see
Report CSD-15-025). Staff are also working on the updated Accessibility standards in 2015. A
Terms of Reference will be prepared for a consultant to assist staff with the updated guidelines
for Low Rise Residential and Industrial Employment Areas in 2015/16.
A detailed Terms of Reference for the full, Comprehensive Review is expected to be prepared in
mid-2016 which will outline the objectives, scope of work/tasks, project schedule, project teams,
engagement methods and process. It is expected that the process will include several
opportunities for consultation with stakeholders. A draft project management structure for the
comprehensive review is attached as Appendix B.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
The Urban Design Manual Update most directly aligns with the Community Priority of
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The costs associated with Interim Update #2 and the Comprehensive Review will be determined
through the preparation of Terms of Reference and consultant selection later this year and mid-
2016 respectively. The Purchasing By-law process will be followed. The funding is available
within existing Planning Division Capital accounts (Development Charge/Current Capital
funded).
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
The Urban Design Manual update public/stakeholder engagement will utilize the primary themes
INFORM
council / committee meeting.
CONSULT The preparation of this project will involve consultation with the public and
development industry through a variety of forms. This will be further determined through the
Terms of Reference and the Work Program.
REVIEWED BY:
Brandon Sloan, Manager, Long Range and Policy Planning
Janine Oosterveld, Manager, Site Development and Customer Service
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Michael May, Deputy CAO (Community Services)
:
Attachments
Appendix A: Draft Outline Comprehensive Review of the Urban Design Manual
Appendix B:Proposed Project Management Structure
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
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