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Home My WebLink AboutDSD-2023-197 - Downtown Kitchener Vision and Growing Together - Council Strategy SessionStaff Report Development Services Department www.kitchener.ca REPORT TO: Special Council DATE OF MEETING: April 17, 2023 SUBMITTED BY: Natalie Goss, Manager Policy & Research, 519-751-2200 Ext. 7648 PREPARED BY: Adam Clark, Senior Urban Designer, 519-741-2200 Ext. 7027 Natalie Goss, Manager Policy & Research, 519-751-2200 Ext. 7648 Richard Kelly-Ruetz, Senior Planner, 519-741-2200 Ext. 7110 John Zunic, Policy Planner, 519-741-2200 Ext. 7685 WARD(S) INVOLVED: Wards 9 & 10 DATE OF REPORT: April 13, 2023 REPORT NO.: DSD -2023-197 SUBJECT: Downtown Kitchener Vision and Growing Together - Council Strategy Session RECOMMENDATION: For Discussion. I1. uestions: ouncil Strategy Session Part 1 — Downtown Kitchener Vision What three words would you use to describe your ideal Downtown Kitchener? ouncil Strategy Session Part 2 — Growing Together What are Council's priorities about directing where low, medium, and high-density growth occurs within the Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs)? What other considerations does Council have when accommodating new housing and jobs within the Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs)? BACKGROUND: DTK Vision In January 2022, City Council endorsed a community -led process to develop a new vision for downtown Kitchener (DTK). Growth is happening at a time where housing affordability, climate, equity, and social factors are coming together to change the face of the downtown core. The pandemic has caused significant impacts to the business community. Over the last several months the Downtown Community Working Group has worked together with city staff through several themed workshop discussions to set the stage for the development of a new vision and series of principles to guide the future of DTK. A broad community engagement outreach commenced at the end of February 2023 that included several pop- *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. Page 3 of 32 up events at the Kitchener Market and Carl Zehr Square as well as a variety of online engagement approaches. Growing Together Kitchener is growing, and much of that growth is around the ION LRT system and its associated stations. These areas have been identified as Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs) by the Region of Waterloo. MTSAs are areas within a 500 to 800 metre distance of a transit station or roughly a 10 -minute walk. MTSAs have unique provincial and regional policies wherein intensification around transit is a core fundamental principle of Ontario's planning framework. The City has launched the Growing Together project to implement these policies by updating the City's Official Plan and Zoning By-law. The Growing Together project builds upon the previous work done with the community while responding to new direction from the province, implementing the updated Regional Official Plan, and addressing new and emerging City priorities. This will create a planning framework for Kitchener's MTSAs by enabling and encouraging responsible growth for many years. The City is engaging on the Growing Together project throughout 2023, starting with an interactive workshop using a 3D -printed model of the central MTSA's. Staff have already hosted multiple public workshops and will run the workshop with members of Council during this Strategy Session. REPORT: The purpose of the Strategy Session is to obtain input from members of Council on two separate but related topics: (1) preliminary findings from community engagement on the Downtown Kitchener Vision project, and (2) the distribution of growth within the City's Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs) through an interactive workshop. The workshop will be conducted in two parts with the first focused on the DTK Vision and the second portion providing an opportunity to explore the anticipated population growth in the following 7 of Kitchener's 10 MTSAs through a hands-on exercise: • Grand River Hospital Station • Central Station • Victoria Park & Kitchener City Hall Station • Frederick & Queen Station • Kitchener Market Station • Borden Station • Mill Station Council Strategy Session agenda DTK Vision Workshop — 20 mins Staff will provide a brief project overview and update. The balance of the workshop will provide Council with an opportunity, using the tool Mentimeter, to share input on the words each member of Council would use to describe their ideal Downtown Kitchener. Council will then see how their words compare to the e top 10 words that were shared by the community. ri uestions: . What three words would you use to describe your ideal Downtown Kitchener? Page 4 of 32 Growing Together Workshop — 70 mins. Topics covered during the workshop include: • The amount of growth the province has directed to the City of Kitchener within the next 10 years. On March 20th, 2023, Council resolved to forward its Municipal Housing Pledge to the Province, pledging to support the building of 35,000 homes in Kitchener by 2031. Based on Provincial and Regional policies directing growth to existing built up areas and along transit corridors, approximately 18,000 of the 35,000 homes allocated to Kitchener will be directed to the 7 MTSAs listed above. • The factors that influence growth and development, and the City's obligations to accommodate this growth. Staff will provide a short presentation on Growing Together. The balance of the workshop will provide Council with an opportunity to place approximately two -hundred 3D -printed building pieces on the model, representing 18,000 new housing units The buildings represent a mix of low, medium, and high-rise housing forms. The distribution of buildings was chosen based on current and projected development trends while also accounting for new policy objectives such as creating more opportunities for missing middle housing forms. Following the placement of the 3-D printed buildings the facilitator will ask members of council to share their thoughts on the following two questions. W Questions: 1. What are Council's priorities about directing where low, medium, and high-density growth occurs within the Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs)? 2. What other considerations does Council have when accommodating new housing and jobs within the Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs)? NEXT STEPS: DTK Vision Staff will take the input shared at the Council Strategy Session and together with the information shared by the community, through recent DTK Vision events and online, the Downtown Community Working Group will use the information to draft a new vision and principles for DTK. At this time it is anticipated that a draft vision and principles will be shared with the community starting in June. Council will have an opportunity to provide input on the draft vision and principles at a subsequent Council Strategy Session in August. Growing Together Staff will take the input shared at the Council Strategy Session, and those of earlier public workshops, and translate the results into a smart digital model. The smart model can analyze patterns pertaining to growth, density, housing, and more. This process lets staff align the feedback provided with various technical considerations to create complementary community informed and data driven outcomes. In June, staff will report back to Council with a summary of what we've heard through engagement efforts. A preliminary approach to growth in the 7 central MTSAs will also be released in June, including the general locations that will be the focus of low, medium, and high-rise forms of development. Community engagement on this work will continue Page 5 of 32 throughout the summer 2023. At this time, staff expect to have an updated land use, zoning, and built form framework for Growing Together to Council for a decision towards the end of 2023. STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT: This report supports the delivery of core services. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: There are no financial implications arising from the result of this discussion. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: INFORM — This report has been posted to the City's website with the agenda in advance of the council / committee meeting. APPROVED BY: Justin Readman, General Manager, Development Services Department ATTACHMENTS: Attachment A — Growing Together Workshop Presentation Page 6 of 32 r 1 �9 ■ . 1. 000 r ........ "a /r 0000000 - •.F 1 �gaag some. t . ............ 00, I ■ ��♦♦�� /� 0000 00000 00000 _ — 000✓ ir. J_•. _... _ _ Ah A Quick History ■ The Growing Together project is the continuation of our ongoing planning review process that began with the Planning Around Rapid Transit Stations (PARTS) and advanced through the Neighbourhood Planning Review (NPR) project. This work builds upon PARTS and NPR while also responding to new direction from the province, implementing the updated Regional Official Plan, and addressing new and emerging City priorities. / ) 11 Page 41.R :1ft — - Let's Go Back A Bit Further • 2005 - Ontario Legislature passed the Places to Grow Act and the Greenbelt Act • 2012 — Region of Waterloo approved the ION Light Rail Transit (LRT) • 2013 — City of Kitchener launched the PARTS project • 2018 — Implementation of the PARTS Plans began through the NPR process • 2022 — Regional Official Plan (ROP) is updated • 2022 — Province introduces significant legislative changes • Today —PARTS and NPR implementation work is now advancing through Growing Tod What Are These Changes ? • The Province has: ➢ Assigned Kitchener a growth target for 35,000 new units by the end of 2031, part of a provincial target for 1.5 million new homes in Ontario. ➢ Limited inclusionary zoning to Major Transit Station Areas only. Inclusionary zoning allows cities to require affordable housing as part of new development. ➢ Removed density bonusing from the Planning Act, which Kitchener relied on to guide growth in our Downtown. • Additional direction from the province on MTSAs is expected throughout 2023 and beyond. What Are These Changes ? • The Region has: ➢ Finalized the boundaries for Kitchener's Major Transit Station Areas. (examples below). ➢ Created new policies that require us to plan for "missing middle' housing. r � Grand River Hospital Station -Stl ,,,,,, ri G Central Station - Sa - �'�Y'. Kthener Cit" m Pall seatini3ell xesw Bo°` 4.cn,y / '�tw ou5e t o w see �,SE 5 t'on q' kPje Victoria Park and Kitchener City Hall Station -6b �.�. .11 What Are These Changes ? • The City has: ➢ Been impacted by a housing affordability crisis. ➢ Declared a climate emergency (June 2019). ➢ Begun exploring a downtown district energy system. • Additional direction through the upcoming strategic plan and other city initiatives will be informing our work as well. What Do These Changes Mean ? • Aligning Growing Together with these changes will ensure that our work meets provincial and regional requirements. This ensures we can access tools and opportunities available to us within MTSAs. • We have created this workshop to re-engage with the community and explore what these changes mean. • We will follow these workshops with updated draft materials in the following months that take the following into consideration: ➢ The key directions, technical considerations and public input that form the PARTS Plans ➢ The draft materials and public feedback that form the NPR Project to date ➢ Public input from these workshops ➢ New objectives and technical considerations brought by these changes .J WNw What Are Kitchener's MTSAs? • There are 10 MTSAs in Kitchener • Growing Together focuses on the following 7 MTSAs: ➢ Grand River Hospital Station ➢ Central Station ➢ Victoria Park & Kitchener City Hall Station ➢ Frederick & Queen Station ➢ Kitchener Market Station ➢ Borden Station ➢ Mill Station • Downtown Kitchener, or the Urban Growth Centre, is fully contained within these MT! VL rim K IIr^"nW%nrIFdft.- 1111 1 `r M rn K nr*oc2ft Ila 1 `r M rn K nr*oc2ft Ila 1 `r !6)riam-Pip a,m$er�o n ne�rg KoCkwavAGolt=,unurse 40 ►IL rn rc Ir^hnrNnr*fC-% 1111 1 `11 i :r. 0 What's Happening In Our MTSAs? • Our MTSAs will be growing and changing over time; ➢ Growth is directed to MTSAs by provincial, regional and city policy. ➢ This helps protect farmland and natural areas while still creating much needed housing for the people of Kitchener. ➢ Intensifying around transit allows more people to meet more of their daily needs without relying on a personal vehicle, which is critical in meeting our climate change goals. ➢ Intensifying already built-up and serviced areas can help ensure the long-term financial health of Kitchener, to keep property taxes low and service levels high. ➢ There is a housing supply and affordability crisis that is making it difficult for moderate and low- income people to live in Kitchener. :1•1•la011010 irY !•� ; ' '.� s.a1 1� Icy `, >.; � . .��t�•* `ti�� .. .�j!`� pry � +rai'' 0 `` �9'w� ` � .• w �� ` � `, ,fist �� `�� yi�'•4,,�h ", '�. �r a6�Rv � 1 it � !. • Ak This map represents the existing context along with several proposed developments within Kitchener's MTSAs. 1001.161: • fir • ' ...+ � '' /w •'' � .`��I �'� �i�```t�o��• "•? �� ;. '��o pip a • • � \U` Ua\``�' � ;t'� �.?` Via' � �\� ��\U � 4 �' - '� �\\A`�p••�`� Baa, Off•' Ja '� �?�\\""`��/, ` a' � .5v'aa1r��tl c� !o`v`a oa °G ,G �♦` qi zot • Ak Here we add a dot for every recently built, under construction and proposed building within the area. 001.101:4011010 • fr lY/ !' �a�. ` i•: "• , '� ��"O � b� �p /!!!I/�/4fy" � imp �� G �.i`�< ♦r y`7 it '�` \ gp- -41 r 4. �4 o�vVo 0ic2y'•" V•� .� M- ,N' !" •, �> / ►p/ /�`h Jn°\� :� G�`�� `��u��v ♦ IA � G��°u��mr,lplrZ7L"rfiu"`- .' ` ' $ .�� vitt <; � I IM" ,`�� 4, d�`j t� tat 6,p/ �9 '1 `�3��Q// ° y. 46 r' � ♦ �'. ',�. /.��► 4`'��/.°�� wry,♦ ��.-,._ 4i>ei/ld llirni. �•`%", i'�Y ern ``^ •'� J Ak This `blob' represents a best fit around these buildings, showing that development has mostly taken place along the ION LRT line and within the Urban Growth Centre. The Workshop ❑ Let's Break the Ice! ➢ We will be asking you three questions to get the conversation started. ❑ Workshop Scenario I Housing Choice ➢ Place buildings representing 18,000 new housing units on the model. ➢ This amount of new housing units in the MTSAs is consistent with Provincial and Regional policy that directs growth to existing built up areas and along rapid transit corridors. ➢ This is an amount of growth consistent with the City of Kitchener's Municipal Housing Pledge targeting 35,000 new units by the end of 2031. ➢ These buildings are a mix of low, medium and high-rise housing. Let's Break The Ice! Place pink paper squares on your favourite things in our MTSAs. This could include your favourite; ➢ Building, new or old, big or small ➢ Park, street or public space ➢ Place to visit (museums, libraries, performance venues, etc.) ➢ Place to shop (restaurants, cafes, shops, salons, etc.) .� •� ; or r' • Let's Break The Ice! If you could live anywhere within Kitchener's MTSAs, where would it be? Use the green paper squares to show us, and consider; ➢ It doesn't have to be within an existing building or a certain type of building ➢ It doesn't have to be where you currently live, if you live here already r \� 1 Things to Keep in Mind 0 Try to focus broadly on where you'd like to see low, medium and high- rise growth. • Try not to concentrate your time on specific properties. ➢ These workshops help identify how different scales of development can be distri MTSAs but they will not directly determine land use or zoning on a site -by -site b ➢ Kitchener's MTSAs will need to continue to grow far beyond a 2031 timeline. • There is no `one answer' to how Kitchener's MTSAs will develc Things to Keep in Mind 0 Try to focus broadly on where you'd like to see low, medium and high- rise growth. • Try not to concentrate your time on specific properties. ➢ These workshops help identify how different scales of development can be distri MTSAs but they will not directly determine land use or zoning on a site -by -site b ➢ Kitchener's MTSAs will need to continue to grow far beyond a 2031 timeline. • There is no `one answer' to how Kitchener's MTSAs will develc Next Steps ❑ The Workshop Scenario is captured and translated into our digital smart model ➢ The digital model gives us instant access to data on densities, unit counts, people, jobs and more. ➢ It lets us align your feedback with technical considerations to create complementary community informed and data driven outcomes. Ll Draft direction on land use and zoning will be posted in the coming months ➢ All materials will be posted on engagewnca/growingtogether • . � . ; ..'� to � .., a � � • Nk •AK.6- -- IM Fff2q\-9k R FAQ Q Can this much housing be built in Kitchener's MTSAs by 2031 ? A We are obligated to plan to meet the provincial target of 35,000 homes by the end of 2031, and it is also important that Kitchener's MTSAs have the potential to continue to grow for many decades to follow. This exercise lets us explore a growth scenario based on well researched targets. However, the amount of housing built and the timing of when it is built, is subject to many complex conditions and considerations. Q Why these `typical' buildings and not others? A These buildings represent a range of real-world typologies that can and are being built in Kitchener's MTSAs. We want this exercise to be as realistic as possible. I� FAQ Q What do the `typical' buildings represent? A From left to right; ➢ 35-45 storeys, 400-500 units ➢ 20-30 storeys, 200-300 units ➢ 12 storeys, 100 units ➢ 6 storeys, 60 units ➢ 3 storeys, 12 units ➢ 3 storeys, 6 units FAQ Q Why this distribution of high-rise, mid -rise and low-rise buildings? A We have analyzed all recent and proposed development within MTSAs and found that 83% of all units are in high-rise form, 16% are in mid -rise form, and 1 % are in low-rise form. ➢ To meet our missing middle objectives, and to work toward a greater range of housing choice, we have adjusted those numbers to 75% high-rise, 20% mid -rise, and 5% low-rise for the Workshop Scenario.