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Initiative 7: Community Planning Permit System

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Initiative 7: Community Planning Permit System

As part of our ongoing work to enable housing to reach the market more quickly, the City of Waterloo is developing a tool to streamline development approvals in the Uptown Primary Node and Erb Street Corridor. This tool is called a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) and is a land use planning tool which combines Zoning By-law Amendments, Minor Variances and Site Plan applications into one single application and approval process, enabling housing to reach the market more quickly.

Draft Community Planning Permit By-law and Urban Design Guidelines Released

A draft of the Community Planning Permit (CPP) By-law and Urban Design Guidelines have been released and are available for review and commenting. The intent is to carry forward the City’s existing Zoning By-law 2018-050 regulations as the foundation of the CPP By-law, with updates as appropriate, and to enable CPPS permissions as afforded by the Planning Act.

View the released drafts below.

Public input is critical to the success of this initiative, as once the CPP By-law is implemented the opportunities to provide input on new development projects will change based on the type and level of complexity of the proposed development. Please refer to the draft By-law for more information. We invite you to review the draft documents and share feedback with us at the upcoming in-person session (details below) or by email to Tanja.Curic@waterloo.ca. We will be collecting feedback to develop the next draft of the CPP By-law and Urban Design Guidelines until January 31, 2025.


Register for the in-person Public Engagement Session

An in-person public engagement session is scheduled for January 22, 2025. The session will include a presentation and opportunity to ask questions of the project team. The session will include an overview of the project, the draft Community Planning Permit By-law, and Urban Design Guidelines.

Date: Wednesday, January 22 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Location: Community Room (Second floor), Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex Community Pavilion, 101 Father David Bauer Drive

Registration: Participants are required to register for this event by emailing Tanja.Curic@waterloo.ca.

A recording of the presentation and a copy of the slide deck will be posted on the this page after the event.

A CPPS and a CPP By-law rely on upfront consultation while these tools are being developed. There will be many opportunities throughout the project process to engage. Project updates will be posted on this page, and you can also request to be placed on the project email list by emailing Tanja.Curic@waterloo.ca

Key actions:

  • Develop a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS).
  • Establish Urban Design Guidelines.
  • Propose an Official Plan Amendment for community and Council consideration.
  • Propose a Community Planning Permit by-law for community and Council consideration.
  • Train staff, communicate new by-law and implement.

Net new units: 50

Implementation timeline: December 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026

Project Location (click map for interactive features)

Background

In 2022, the City had a CPPS Background Study undertaken, which produced the following deliverables that have informed this project (PDFs):

• Community Planning Permit System Study Report

• Community Planning Permit System Education Booklet

• Draft Waterloo Official Plan Policies

*Return to City of Waterloo Housing Accelerator Fund page.

Initiative 7: Community Planning Permit System

As part of our ongoing work to enable housing to reach the market more quickly, the City of Waterloo is developing a tool to streamline development approvals in the Uptown Primary Node and Erb Street Corridor. This tool is called a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) and is a land use planning tool which combines Zoning By-law Amendments, Minor Variances and Site Plan applications into one single application and approval process, enabling housing to reach the market more quickly.

Draft Community Planning Permit By-law and Urban Design Guidelines Released

A draft of the Community Planning Permit (CPP) By-law and Urban Design Guidelines have been released and are available for review and commenting. The intent is to carry forward the City’s existing Zoning By-law 2018-050 regulations as the foundation of the CPP By-law, with updates as appropriate, and to enable CPPS permissions as afforded by the Planning Act.

View the released drafts below.

Public input is critical to the success of this initiative, as once the CPP By-law is implemented the opportunities to provide input on new development projects will change based on the type and level of complexity of the proposed development. Please refer to the draft By-law for more information. We invite you to review the draft documents and share feedback with us at the upcoming in-person session (details below) or by email to Tanja.Curic@waterloo.ca. We will be collecting feedback to develop the next draft of the CPP By-law and Urban Design Guidelines until January 31, 2025.


Register for the in-person Public Engagement Session

An in-person public engagement session is scheduled for January 22, 2025. The session will include a presentation and opportunity to ask questions of the project team. The session will include an overview of the project, the draft Community Planning Permit By-law, and Urban Design Guidelines.

Date: Wednesday, January 22 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Location: Community Room (Second floor), Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex Community Pavilion, 101 Father David Bauer Drive

Registration: Participants are required to register for this event by emailing Tanja.Curic@waterloo.ca.

A recording of the presentation and a copy of the slide deck will be posted on the this page after the event.

A CPPS and a CPP By-law rely on upfront consultation while these tools are being developed. There will be many opportunities throughout the project process to engage. Project updates will be posted on this page, and you can also request to be placed on the project email list by emailing Tanja.Curic@waterloo.ca

Key actions:

  • Develop a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS).
  • Establish Urban Design Guidelines.
  • Propose an Official Plan Amendment for community and Council consideration.
  • Propose a Community Planning Permit by-law for community and Council consideration.
  • Train staff, communicate new by-law and implement.

Net new units: 50

Implementation timeline: December 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026

Project Location (click map for interactive features)

Background

In 2022, the City had a CPPS Background Study undertaken, which produced the following deliverables that have informed this project (PDFs):

• Community Planning Permit System Study Report

• Community Planning Permit System Education Booklet

• Draft Waterloo Official Plan Policies

*Return to City of Waterloo Housing Accelerator Fund page.

  • Project update Dec. 19, 2024

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    Staff took an information report IPPW2024-057 to Council on December 16. The next step will be to undertake engagement on the drafts in January. Stay tuned for more information.

  • Official Plan Policies adopted

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    On December 2, Council adopted Official Plan Amendment 58 which included updated CPPS Official Plan policies, to reflect the current Provincial CPPS regulations of Planning Act O. Reg 173/16 which set out specific Official Plan policy requirements. As way of background, draft policies for the City to consider implementing through the Official Plan Review were developed as part of the previous Background Study. The draft policies were made available for commenting. Comments were taken into consideration and a final set of policies advanced as part of Official Plan Review Amendment 58 (Section 12.2.17). Read about https://www.engagewr.ca/waterloo-official-plan for more information.

  • Public information session update

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    Thank you to everyone who attended the information session on Thursday, June 20. The project consultants provided an overview of what a CPP bylaw is, how it differs from the traditional planning process currently in place, its benefits, and additional information about the project. Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions of the project team.

    The presentation from the meeting, and a video recording, is now available on this page.

Page last updated: 20 Dec 2024, 04:00 PM