HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSD-2025-331 - Parkland Acquisition StrategyStaff Report
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Development Services Department www.kitchener.ca
REPORT TO: Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee
DATE OF MEETING: August 11, 2025
SUBMITTED BY: Garett Stevenson, Director of Development and Housing Approvals,
519-783-8922
PREPARED BY: Simon Latam, Parks Planning & Development Project Manager, 519-
783-8030
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All Wards
DATE OF REPORT: July 24, 2025
REPORT NO.: DSD -2025-331
SUBJECT: Parkland Acquisition Strategy
RECOMMENDATION:
That staff be directed to develop a Parkland Acquisition Strategy and report back to
Council prior to March 31, 2026, as outlined in DSD -2025-331.
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
• The purpose of this report is to;
o Launch the Parkland Acquisition Strategy project with Council,
o Share early draft criteria for parkland acquisition, and
o To solicit early feedback from Council for staff to consider in the development
of the strategy.
• There will be no financial implications for this year. Staff will review the budget in 2026
and report back prior to the 2027 budget.
• This report supports Cultivating a Green City Together: Focuses a sustainable path
to a greener, healthier city; enhancing & protecting parks & natural environment
while transitioning to a low -carbon future; supporting businesses & residents to
make climate -positive choices.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Kitchener is experiencing sustained population growth and increasing urban
intensification, particularly in our protected major transit station areas (PMTSAs). As
development continues, the availability of suitable, well -located land for park acquisition is
diminishing. With this comes increased difficulty in meeting the community's growing need
for accessible, high quality green spaces. This challenge is intensified by parkland
distribution, with some neighbourhoods being currently underserved, resulting in critical
needs areas. Bill 23: More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 has introduced substantial
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Page 309 of 321
reductions to the Planning Act provisions related to parkland dedication rates and imposed
new caps on cash -in -lieu contributions.
Given the continued growth anticipated, and the limited parkland dedication fees expected
through development applications, there is a need to develop a parkland acquisition
strategy that intentionally plans for future parkland acquisition that supports a healthier,
more equitable and climate resilient city. This strategy will build off the baseline parkland
provision analysis and criteria for parkland acquisition established in Spaces (2022) and
the Development Manual, allowing the City to fulfill the need to pursue acquisitions more
purposefully and creatively, and ultimately meeting the objectives set out in the Council
endorsed Parks Strategic Plan. A comprehensive Parkland Acquisition Strategy will identify
priority areas for park investment, develop a financial model for acquisition, develop a
system of weighted criteria for staff to use to balance location, size, and construction and
operational priorities for assessing acquisition opportunities and garner alignment across
various internal departments for efficient decision making on future park opportunities, so
that staff can act strategically when opportunities arise.
REPORT:
Parkland Acquisition Strategy Launch
Staff have now begun work to develop a new Parkland Acquisition Strategy, which is listed
as an action item in the City's 2023-2026 Strategic Plan under Cultivating a Green City
Together. The Strategy is expected to provide a clear, evidence -based framework to guide
how and where the City acquires new parkland. It will also provide the framework
necessary for Council to make informed, prioritized park investment decisions, respond
strategically to funding and land constraints, and strive for equitable access to park space
across all neighbourhoods; particularly in high-growth and underserved areas. The strategy
will also explore new and innovative approaches to acquiring and leveraging land, enabling
the City to build a resilient, connected, and inclusive park system.
A Project Advisory Team has been established with internal staff members from various
Divisions, including Housing and Planning Policy, Development and Housing Approvals,
Economic Development, Parks and Cemeteries, Legal and Corporate Services.
Mechanisms to Acquire Parkland
As part of the strategy development, staff are currently exploring various mechanisms for
the City to acquire and/or establish more park land, including, but not limited to;
- Acquiring new lands through development applications,
- purchasing privately owned lands,
- repurposing existing City -owned lands,
- entering into long-term lease,
- establishing partnerships with the GRCA, school boards and other branches of
government,
- gifted or donated lands, and
- Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS).
Page 310 of 321
Draft Evaluation Criteria
Staff have also drafted criteria for evaluating lands for parks purposes, which will be utilized
to evaluate lands through any acquisition mechanism including, but not limited to those listed
above. There are four levels of criteria: Mandatory, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary:
• Mandatory criteria must be met for any acquisition mechanism,
• Primary and Secondary criteria will receive a weighted score and include a threshold
that must be met for lands to be considered.
• Tertiary criteria will not be weighted, however the criteria will be considered as an
asset to the overall acquisition and will assist in meeting other City goals and
initiatives.
The draft criteria is attached below. Please note that primary, secondary, and tertiary criteria
may be weighted differently across our land acquisition mechanisms, in response to
variation in anticipated timelines and budget implications.
Category
Criteria
Benchmark
Programmable, tablelands* (Yes or no)
YES / NO
- Lands that are outside of:
o Hazardous or flood prone
lands
o Wetlands and woodlots
retained for conservation
purposes
o Steep or unstable slopes
o Any land having unsuitable or
i
Category
Criteria
Benchmark
Is the site within a Community with a park
Score will be assigned to
acquisition priority?
each category; Score will
- Critical
weighted towards
- High
communities with higher
- Medium
priority
- Low
Is the site an appropriate size* to achieve
Score will be assigned to
one of five park size classification in the
each category; Score will
Parks Master Plan?
be weighted towards
- Micro (<0.1 ha)
parcels that are sized
- Parkette (0.1-0.5 ha)
based on desired park
- Small (0.5-1.5 ha)
classification.
- Medium (1.5-3.0 ha)
- Large (3.0-10.0 ha)
L
*Acquisition of vast (10.0 ha +) may be
considered under a separate individual
Eproject
and may require further
consideration outside of this framework
Does the site have frontage onto public
Score based on
roads?
proportion of site with
- Thresholds to be determined
public frontage that allows
for views in and out of the
future park and mitigates
any CPTED concerns.
Road typology to be
considered in score.
Is there an opportunity to
Score will allow for
consolidate/aggregate with adjacent
parcels that don't meet
parcels?
size or frontage criteria to
- Yes
be considered further, or
- No
where additional lands
can be consolidated with
existing City -owned lands
Note: These criteria must meet a certain `score' based on weighted value to
move on to secondary criteria. If `score' is met, proceed to Secondary Criteria.
Page 312 of 321
Category
Criteria
Benchmark
Shape: Does the site configuration allow for
Score provided higher for
programable park space?
parcels with regular
- Square or rectangle parcels are
configuration/ease of
referred for park programming
programmability
Is flat,
Score
Grading: the site generally well
to be determined.
drained and graded in a way that is suitable
_0
for intended facilities and use by the public
for play and recreation activities?
Utility Connections: Does this site have
Score to be determined.
0
access to services? If not, can servicing be
Yes/no?
0
provided?
- Access to stormwater (Yes or no)
- Access to water service (Yes or no)
- Access to sanitary sewer (Yes or no)
- Access to electrical service (Yes or
no)
Note: These criteria must meet a certain `score' based on weighted value to move
on to tertiary criteria. If `score' is met, proceed to Tertiary Criteria.
Page 313 of 321
Category
Criteria
Benchmark
What is the existing use? Existing buildings
or structures?
Does this site enhance existing natural or
built features?
Does this site complement existing
recreational features and assets within the
community?
- Can the site accommodate a facility
that is needed per a strategic action
(�
or plan (ex. Parks Strategic Plan or
�--+
Leisure Facilities Master Plan.
L
Suitable for future community needs?
- Demographics?
- What is the demand of this park?
Is this site located within an area with a high
number of employees, students, or tourists?
Does the site have cultural significance?
Does the site currently have significant tree
canopy? Will the site help to implement the
Sustainable Urban Forest Strategy?
Is this site located within a priority sub
watershed area?
Is this site located within an area with high
heat disparity?
For tertiary, these criteria are desirable (nice to have) but not required.
Consideration around a benchmark that 3 items must apply.
Overall Score:
Out of Scope
The new Parkland Acquisition Strategy will continue to focus on acquiring park land, as
defined in the Park Dedication By -Law (Chapter 273) as lands for parks and other public
recreational purposes. The strategy is not proposed to include an approach for acquiring
open space lands which serve various environmental functions, as these lands do not
typically meet the criteria for park land and there are other mechanisms (such as the Natural
Area Acquisition Fund) to acquire these lands.
Additionally, the Parkland Acquisition Strategy will not include acquisition of non -park
facilities, such as recreation centres or libraries. Detailed park design and programming, as
well as operation and maintenance planning will also not be included within the scope of this
project.
It is anticipated that the Parkland Acquisition Strategy will not include parcels over ten
hectares in size, as classified as Vast in Spaces 2022. Parcels over ten hectares in size will
be evaluated through a separate site specific process as a different level/type of analysis is
required to properly consider such large parcels.
Page 314 of 321
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This report supports Cultivating a Green City Together: Focuses a sustainable path to
a greener, healthier city; enhancing & protecting parks & natural environment while
transitioning to a low -carbon future; supporting businesses & residents to make
climate -positive choices.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Capital Budget — No impacts to the 2025 or 2026 Capital Budget are anticipated.
As part of the Parkland Acquisition Strategy, staff will be undertaking a full financial analysis
of different funding models/options for further consideration which may include utilizing
funding from the tax base, Provincial and Federal grants, public/private partnerships, as well
as others. Staff will report back on recommendation financial tools with the Parkland
Acquisition Strategy, which may be implemented through Budget 2027. The financial
analysis will also include an evaluation of the impact of land prices on the feasibility of land
acquisition and impacts to the overall park land reserve/budget. Further analysis is needed
to define the target range of land costs to meet the City's parkland target based on a market
value approach. In addition to market value land costs, there are additional costs to develop
and maintain new parks.
Operating Budget — The recommendation has no impact on the 2025 Operating Budget.
Park improvements and ongoing operation and maintenance for new parks will have impacts
on future operating budgets which will be further evaluated through the acquisition process.
The current balance of the Parkland Acquisition Fund is as of July 10, 2025 is
$18,885,343.00.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
The strategy will be part of the implementation of the Parks Master Plan which has
undergone significant engagement.
Staff are proposing to engage Council through working sessions later this summer and fall
as the full strategy is being developed. The strategy will be presented to Council for final
consideration in Q1 of 2026.
Any financial considerations for the strategy will be included as part of Budget 2027.
PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES:
• INS -2022-224 -.Places & Spaces — Park Strategic Plan and Park Dedication Update
• CAO -2023-337 - 2023-2026 Strategic Plan Development — Proposed Strategic Plan
Content
• INS -2025-142 - Places & SDaces Parks Master Plan
Page 315 of 321
REVIEWED BY: Sandro Bassanese, Manager, Site Plan
Mark Parris, Manager, Parks and Open Space
Jeff Silcox -Childs, Director, Parks and Cemeteries
APPROVED BY: Barry Cronkite, Acting General Manager, Development Services
ATTACHMENTS:
• Attachment 1 — Inventory of Existing Parks (Spaces, Parks Master Plan)
Page 316 of 321
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