City of Hamilton releases Secondary Plan for Downtown
Hamilton, ON – The City of Hamilton today released the Downtown Secondary Plan and Zoning By-law that will be considered at the upcoming April 17, 2018 Planning Committee meeting.
It’s significant to note that the vision for the downtown, as developed by the Community Liaison Committee, was created to assist with the update to the Secondary Plan.
Vision for Downtown
The downtown Hamilton of the future shall be a vibrant focus of attraction where all ages, abilities, and incomes can live, work, learn, shop, and play. The future downtown shall be healthy, safe, comfortable, accessible, and a prosperous community that promotes a high quality of life. It will combine the best of our heritage with new concepts and designs while seamlessly linking together the downtown, surrounding neighbourhoods, the waterfront and the Niagara Escarpment.
The Secondary Plan and Zoning By-law will implement this vision.
The Secondary Plan will guide development in the downtown over the next 15 years. The City has set a goal of accommodating between 5,000 – 6,000 new dwelling units (8,500 – 10,000 people) in the downtown.
The Secondary Plan and Zoning By-law changes will be accompanied by a set of guidelines that will be used to evaluate and assess new development in the downtown to ensure that the urban design objectives of the downtown are met.
The updated Secondary Plan and Zoning By-law is the culmination of seven years of work and reflects the input received from 28 public consultation events. The early release of the Plan is to allow citizens, and key stakeholders, with sufficient time to read the Plan before it is presented at the Planning Committee meeting in April.
The City will be hosting an Open House with the final draft of the Downtown Secondary Plan, Downtown Zones and Utility Zone (Wards 2 & 3) prior to the April 17, 2018 Planning Committee meeting. More details regarding the Open House will be forthcoming in the near weeks.
Previous to this, a draft Plan was released in October 2017 and was open for public comment. At that time, City of Hamilton staff also met with key stakeholders and property owners on the draft plan to receive feedback.
Based on the feedback received and further review of the Plan, the updated Plan incorporates revisions relating to building heights. This was done to ensure that new development occurs in a sustainable manner, protecting and planning for a range and mix of housing options, supporting a wide range of commercial uses, all while protecting the downtown’s rich architectural heritage.
Additional resources
- View the Downtown Hamilton Secondary Plan