***Update: Kitchener City Council will be meeting on Monday, March 18th at 1:30 pm to consider the Growing Together proposal. There is an updated staff report in the meeting agenda.***
Kitchener’s Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee (PSIC) considered the Growing Together proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments for our neighbourhood and the lands surrounding 7 of our 10 ION streetcar stops on Monday, January 29, 2024. The recording of the meeting and all the documents are available here. The Committee deferred taking a decision until March 18, 2024 to address unresolved concerns.
The agenda for the meeting on Monday, March 18, 2024 will be posted here and will include instructions on how to submit an official comment or delegate before Council. Attending a public meeting is generally helpful in indicating to Council that an issue is contentious.
***Note: This page is being updated as more information and analysis become available. If you don’t find the information you are looking for, please email hzjaeger@gmail.com with your questions and check back for additional information.***
Table of Contents
1.Introduction to Growing Together
2.How to Review a Proposed Change in Zoning
3.Quick Overview of Planning & Zoning
4.Links to Key Municipal Planning Documents
5.Heritage Kitchener Review of the Growing Together proposal
6.Neighbour’s Comments
Introduction to Growing Together
The Growing Together proposal was considered at the City of Kitchener Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee on January 29, 2024. The proposal and agenda are available here.
The Committee deferred taking a decision until March 18, 2024 to address unresolved concerns. The agenda for the meeting on Monday, March 18, 2024 will be posted here around March 8th and will include instructions on how to submit an official comment or delegate before Council.
If, after reviewing the revised proposal, you still have concerns, you can submit comments, delegate before the Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee and/or attend the meeting. Details in the agenda.
The Planning Department’s Growing Together project released a “final draft” of proposed land use and zoning, which addresses the Olde Berlin Town neighbourhood as well as the lands surrounding 7 of the 10 ION streetcar stops in Kitchener on November 3, 2023.
We suggest many neighbours will benefit from accessing the information in the following order:
a) Olde Berlin Town Neighbourhood-Specific Introduction
b) Growing Together Community Guide
c) Draft Zoning Mapping
d) Draft Zoning By-law Amendment
e) Draft Official Plan and Land Use Mapping
f) Draft Official Plan Amendment
The Olde Berlin Town Neighbourhood Association hosted a neighbourhood meeting on the Growing Together proposal on November 12, 2023 and an in-person drop-in session on November 16, 2023 to address property-specific questions that could not be addressed at the neighbourhood meeting. A group of neighbours then met on November 26, 2023 to share perspectives in advance of the November 30, 2023 deadline to submit comments.
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How to review a proposed change in zoning
1. Look up and record the zoning labels and any “Site Specific Provision” numbers (located in parenthesis) for the addresses you are interested in on the existing and proposed zoning maps below (click on each map for a high-resolution image).
2. Look up the existing zoning definitions:
zoning definitions, (Zoning Bylaw 85-1)
special regulations (Zoning Bylaw 85-1)
and special use provisions (Zoning Bylaw 85-1).
3. Look up the proposed zoning definitions:
INS-1 & 2 (Zoning Bylaw 2019-051, March 2022)
MIX-1, 2 & 3 (Zoning Bylaw 2019-051, March 2022)
OSR-1 & 2 (Zoning Bylaw 2019-051)
RES-3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 (Zoning Bylaw 2019-051, March 2022)
SGA-1, 2, 3 & 4 (see page 78, Growing Together, Nov 2023)
and Site Specific Provisions if applicable (see page 94, Growing Together, Nov 2023)
Additional Resources:
City of Kitchener Zoning Bylaw Page (covers all parts of zoning bylaw 85-1 and new Zoning Bylaw 2019-051)
Background Reports and Studies (see page 71, Growing Together Community Guide, Nov 2023)
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Quick Overview of Planning & Zoning
Heritage preservation is regulated by our neighbourhood’s Civic Centre Heritage Conservation District Plan.
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Links to Key Municipal Planning Documents
Below is a list of some key planning documents related to the Olde Berlin Town neighbourhood:
i) Official Plan (2014)
ii) Current Zoning By-law 85-1
iii) Current Zoning By-law 2019-051
iv) Planning Around Rapid Transit Stations Central Plan
v) Heritage Conservation District Plans (and our neighbourhood’s Civic Centre Heritage Conservation District Plan, 2007)
vi) Civic Centre Neighbourhood Plan for Land Use (2014 Official Plan Map #9)
vii) Secondary Plans (existing text, 1994)
viii) Olde Berlin Town (Civic Centre) Secondary Plan Review (Neighbourhood Planning Review), 2019
ix) Planning Resources & Urban Design Manual and Guidelines
x) Citizen’s Guide to Planning and Development & Neighbourhood Development Guide
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Heritage Kitchener Review of the Growing Together proposal
City of Kitchener Heritage Planning Staff shared their review of the Growing Together proposal in Staff Report DSD-2024-009. The Report was reviewed at the January 10, 2024 Heritage Kitchener meeting. You will be able to watch the meeting here, once the video is posted. The written response submitted by Hal Jaeger can be seen here.
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Neighbour’s Comments on Growing Together
Individual Neighbour’s Comments on the Nov. 3, 2023 “Final Draft” of Growing Together (from DSD-2024-005 Attachment J)
S.&S. Castle Part 1, Part 2
H. Jaeger Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
P.&R. Samuel
J. Parmley & C. Mulligan
N. Baarda
R. Cameron
A.&M. Doran
L. New (sent after Attachment J)
Corporate Neighbour’s Comments on the Nov. 3, 2023 “Final Draft” of Growing Together (from DSD-2024-005 Attachment J)
181-197 Frederick Street & 134-147 Lancaster Street East pg 423
85 Weber Street W and 60&66 College Street pg 199
46-56 College Street (Royal and Wales Apartments) pg 391
58, 60 and 64 Weber and 96, 102 Young Street pg 392
83-87 Weber Street E. and 79 Weber Street E. consolidated pg 306, 390
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Previous Growing Together Update — June 30, 2023
The Growing Together project is a continuation of the Planning Around Rapid Transit Stations (PARTS) and the Neighbourhood Planning Review (or Secondary Plan Review) projects which will produce updated land use designations and zoning for our community. Following the workshops held in Spring 2023, the project has released a Draft Approach to Growth and Change document for public comment.
The following images from pages 22 and 27 of the Draft Approach to Growth and Change summarize the proposal. You can ask questions and share comments in person with staff at information booths on July 15th and 19th. You can also submit comments via email. Contact information and further details at https://www.engagewr.ca/growingtogether.
