FAQs

The Official Plan is the primary strategic document used to guide growth and change in Waterloo over the next 20 years. The Official Plan contains principles, goals and objectives established by the community which describe and coordinate how land in the City should be used and developed. The Official Plan is used by the City to plan for both short-term and long-term growth and development while taking into consideration important social, environmental, economic, and cultural issues and goals and values. Official plans have legal status and derive their authority from the Planning Act. All municipal public works and by-laws must conform to the Official Plan. The Official Plan also creates a legal framework for zoning and standards.

An Official Plan deals primarily with issues such as:

• where new housing, industry, offices and shops will be located
• where services such as roads, sewers, parks and schools will be located
• when, and in what order, parts of the City will grow
• how the environment is protected
• what the character of the community and neighbourhoods will be
• community improvement initiatives
• how much greenspace and parkland there is 
• the scale and intensity of development
• housing affordability
• transportation options

An Official Plan Review is a process to consider the appropriateness and applicability of a city’s current official plan. Regular updates of the Plan ensure that the principles, objectives, and vision for city planning stays responsive to current issues and conditions.

The Planning Act requires municipalities to regularly review their official plans. Specifically, municipal councils are required to revise the Plan no less frequently than 10 years after it comes into effect as a new official plan. As the City’s current Official Plan was adopted in 2012, a Review has to be completed by 2022. This is to ensure that the plan implements any changes to Provincial legislation/plans, upper-tier municipal plans (i.e. Regional plans), and other changes that impact municipal planning decisions. The review is also an opportunity to ensure the Official Plan continues to reflect contemporary urban planning best practices and to address local priorities and changing community needs through planning policy.

A list of some of the plans and studies that have been created or currently are underway since the 2012 adoption of the Official Plan include:

• 2019-2022 Strategic Plan
• Comprehensive Zoning By-law (By-law 2018-050)
• Major Transit Station Area plans
• Inclusionary Zoning Study
• Transportation Master Plan Update
• Park Strategy
• Cultural Heritage Landscapes Study
• Uptown Public Realm Strategy
• West Side Employment Lands land use planning 
• Climate Action Plan for Waterloo Region
• Community Energy Investment Strategy
• Corporate Climate Change Adaptation Plan
• Stormwater Management Master Plan
• Grand River Source Protection Plan 

The Official Plan Review process was described in the Terms of Reference approved by Council on December 7, 2020 (Council Report IPPW2020-060). It has a target completion date of Fall 2022 and has the following three phases and timing: 

1. Research (2021) – Includes a scan of changes that have occurred at the Provincial, Regional and local level that may impact our Official Plan as well as a review of best practices. 

2. Plan Review (2022) – Based on research findings, identify gaps/issues with the Official Plan, evaluate options, and formulate recommendations of preferred solutions for Council consideration and adoption. 

3. Approval and Implementation (2022⁺) – Includes City adoption of the Official Plan, Regional approval of the Official Plan, and consideration of revisions to processes or documents (e.g. Zoning By-law) that may be necessary to implement the Plan.

It is not anticipated that this review will result in an entirely new Official Plan. Rather, it will more likely result in policy and mapping refinements to address contemporary urban planning best practices and Provincial, Regional and local changes that have occurred since the existing Official Plan was approved in 2012. Further, the Region is currently reviewing its Official Plan, and the City’s Official Plan will need to be amended to align with the new Regional Official Plan (“ROP”) pursuant to the Planning Act.  

The last target provided by the Region of Waterloo called for the City of Waterloo to plan to add another 57,700 residents and 40,100 employees by 2051. More recently, cities in Ontario have been provided a housing target by the Province of Ontario. This is in response to faster growth trends throughout Ontario over recent years. According to the housing targets provided by the Province in 2023, our city is to plan to accommodate 16,000 new housing units by 2031. The Province did not assign employment growth targets. The City of Waterloo is  home to three post-secondary institutions, features a robust and diversified economy, and is a highly desirable place to live..

As illustrated below, the City of Waterloo has been a fast-growing city from the period of 2016-2021, according to Statistics Canada.

There are generally two ways the growth can be accommodated; through development on vacant land, or through infill (or intensification) on land with existing development.

The City of Waterloo has a fixed urban boundary, and as such, has limited opportunities to accommodate growth on vacant land. The city primarily accommodates new growth through infill.

Primary areas for infill growth include in Uptown Waterloo, near ION Light Rail Transit Stops, near our post-secondary institutions, and along major roads in the city.

 The City of Waterloo has developed a land use planning framework that includes a series of “Nodes and Corridors”, which are locations where mid-rise to high-rise developments are pre-zoned to accommodate new infill growth. These Nodes and Corridors are depicted below, with permitted heights of 25 storeys being permitted at Major Nodes and Major Corridors, and 6-12 storeys being permitted at Minor Nodes and Corridors.

You can find a listing of all Current Development Applications on Engage Waterloo.