Kitchener Growth Management Strategy

[Spokes]

Kitchener Growth Management Strategy
http://kitchener.ca/en/insidecityhall/GrowthManagementStrategy.asp?_mid_=32463
http://www.kitchener.ca/en/insidecityhall/resources/Growth_management_strategy.Pdf

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[Spokes]

Are you ready to welcome 98,000 new neighbours?
'Our whole mentality has to change' councillor says, as city prepares for 22 years of higher-density growth
April 18, 2008 | Terry Pender, RECORD STAFF

Councillors are planning now for how the city will accommodate another 98,000 people.

One of the biggest challenges of this growth -- expected over the next 22 years -- will be educating the public about the changes that have to be made.

"Our whole mentality has to change and we have to walk the talk," Coun. John Gazzola said at a recent meeting to talk about managing growth.

A few of the changes:

Fewer single-detached homes in new suburbs
More townhouses, rowhouses, apartment buildings and condos
The location of commercial and residential land uses in the same areas
More walkable neighbourhoods, both existing and new
Better transit and workable bike paths

Kitchener is growing faster than most cities. During the past five years, the city has averaged 1,758 new units of housing a year. At this rate, the city will run out of land for new subdivisions in 17 to 20 years.

In the past 10 years, single-detached homes made up 57 per cent of new housing, while apartments made up 18 per cent and rowhousing 19 per cent.

"Perhaps the scary thing, for a lot of people, is the rate of growth," said Brandon Sloan, a city planner working on the growth management plan.

One west-side neighbourhood grew from about 1,400 people to more than 14,000 between 2000 and 2005.

And the city has not matched that pace with new parks, trails or community centres in places like Huron Village and Doon, Coun. Kelly Galloway said.

"As we grow rapidly in that area, we don't have the amenities," said Galloway, who succeeded earlier this year in getting council to advance the construction of the Kingsdale Community Centre.

Mayor Carl Zehr called the backlog of work in the suburbs the city's Achilles heel.

"We have to find a way of catching up," he said.

The city recently doubled the amount of money in its 10-year capital budget to speed up the building of suburban parks and trails. Even with the additional money, though, it could take more than 20 years to clear the backlog.

Alain Pinard, another city planner working on the growth plan, said some changes are being made now, and others will have to be made in the comings years to accommodate more people.

For instance, new subdivisions must now have at least 50 people per hectare or 50 jobs per hectare, he said.

By 2015, provincial laws will require that 40 per cent of all new development must occur in existing neighbourhoods. And by 2031, the downtown core must have 200 people per hectare or 200 jobs per hectare.

"We also want to do it because it just makes sense," Pinard said.

And all of this means preparing the public for intensification, mixed uses and higher-density housing.

"The education of the public on the benefits of intensification may be the most important growth-related issue," Zehr said.


City of Kitchener ponders growth through 2031
December 01, 2008 | Terry Pender, Record staff

KITCHENER — This city is planning now for a population that is expected to increase by 100,000 by 2031.

And that means several neighbourhoods will be targeted for high-density housing and mixed-use developments, city councillors were told Monday.

Staff tabled a draft Kitchener’s growth management strategy.

Coun. John Gazzola wondered if the projected increase of 100,000 people is realistic.

“What s it based on? How good of a figure is that?” he asked.

Alain Pinard, the city s interim director of planning, assured him the population projection is sound.

“Although the numbers do seem high at first glance, they are only slightly higher than our highest growth years,” Pinard said.

Kitchener's population was 215,000 in 2006.

During the past five years the city has added about 1,750 new units of housing, Brandon Sloan, a senior planner, said.

“If you took the last five years and projected it forward at the same rate we would hit that number,” Sloan said.

But Sloan does not want city councillors and residents to focus on whether 100,000 new residents are added by 2031.

“Whether your hit that number in growth projections in 2031 or 2051 or 2071, doesn’t it make sense to plan for it now, so if and when it does happen we have the best plan in place?”

Provincial legislation, called Places to Grow, requires every municipality in Ontario have plans in place that will, beginning in 2015, direct 40 per cent of all new growth into existing neighbourhoods.

The objective is to reduce urban sprawl, ease traffic congestion, improve air quality and create more density, with walkable neighbourhoods, mixed-use developments and superior public transit.

“Kitchener tomorrow will be more walkable, more transit-supported, more urban,” Sloan said.

The city’s urban planners have ear-marked about 47 different neighourhoods for what they call intensification — a variety of housing types mixed with stores and professional services.

These areas include downtown Kitchener, which expects 10,000 new residents or jobs by 2031, the area around Fairway Road and King Street East, King Street West, Queen Street from Joseph Street to the rail line, the neighbourhood around Frederick Street as it crosses the expressway and the area around Highland and Westmount roads.

“We have already identified the areas that are most suitable for intensification,” Pinard said in an interview.

“Good urban design can go a long way to address concerns with intensification.”

Copies of the draft growth management plan can be found on the city’s website. Council and staff are looking for feedback from residents before adopting a final version of the plan in January.

[Spokes]

Press Release from the City of Kitchener:



Development and technical services committee supports city's new growth management strategy

Monday, January 19, 2009

KITCHENER - Kitchener's development and technical services committee made history earlier tonight by endorsing the city's growth management strategy -- a comprehensive initiative that provides a framework for effectively managing a growing city, improving our business processes, and contributing to healthy and complete communities.

Given Kitchener's population is estimated to grow by as many as 100,000 people by 2031, the city is proactively planning how to effectively manage this growth through its new strategy.

The strategy outlines where new development will take place to ensure it will contribute to a healthy, complete community and be aligned with future infrastructure investments.

"Having sat on the project task force and knowing how far reaching the subject of growth management is, I am so impressed that all of the critical information around this issue has been compiled in this document; and I'm excited to see this report used as a benchmark for all of our future planning decisions," said Coun. Christina Weylie, chair of the development and technical services committee.

The growth management strategy is a collaborative effort that was developed in consultation with the general public, the project task force and community groups.

Through the growth management strategy, the city aims to:


Enhance our valued natural and cultural heritage resources;
Create vibrant urban places;
Ensure greater transportation choice;
Foster a strong economy;
Strengthen communities;
Manage change in an effective and coordinated manner.


The strategy also addresses how the city measures up to the targets set out by the province's "Places to Grow Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe."

"This is a very important document for the city, and I'm happy to see that citizen participation has been a key and ongoing component in its development," said Coun. John Gazzola, vice-chair of the development and technical services committee. "Growth management is an issue that we need to take a stand on; we can't afford to waffle."

One of the strategy's key recommendations is to have an ongoing growth program.

Phase 1 of the strategy's proposed implementation program -- including the details of the proposed annual growth management monitoring report and a biannual growth management plan -- will be presented at the Feb. 9 development and technical services committee meeting for information and public review.

The final version is expected to be tabled at the March 2 development and technical services committee meeting for consideration.


The Kitchener Growth Management Strategy can be found @ http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/growth_management_strategy_final.pdf

[UrbanWaterloo]

COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF INTENSIFICATION AREAS OFFICIAL PLAN REVIEW STUDY
REPORT TO: Development & Technical Services Committee
DATE OF REPORT: June 14, 2010 | DATE OF MEETING: June 21, 2010
SUBMITTED BY: Alain Pinard, Interim Director of Planning
PREPARED BY: Andrew Pinnell, Planner
REPORT NO.: DTS-10-121 (http://www.kitchener.ca/Files/Item/item19299_dts-10-121__comprehensive_review_of_intensification_areas .pdf)

RECOMMENDATION:

That report DTS-10-121 entitled Comprehensive Review of Intensification Areas be received for information and discussion, and further
That staff be directed to further investigate the following with respect to completing the Comprehensive Review of Intensification Areas and developing new and revised policy direction for the new Official Plan:

Determine the planned function and location of proposed Intensification Areas and draft urban structure elements;
Ensure consistency of the draft urban structure with other policy objectives;
Formulate solutions to challenges of achieving intensification;
Establish density targets for Intensification Areas (including minimums where appropriate); and
Protect the function of Downtown as the primary Intensification Area.


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