City Initiated Official Plan Amendment (OPA 39) in response to Provincial Amendments to the Planning Act (Bill 109 and Bill 23)

This project consultation has been completed. Thank you for your input. 

The Planning and Building Services Department has initiated an amendment to the City of St. Catharines Official Plan (The Garden City Plan) to address recent Provincial changes to the Planning Act, including updates to Site Plan Control and permissions for additional residential units (accessory dwelling units).

The key elements of the Amendment include:

• Recognizing that two additional residential units (accessory dwelling units) are now permitted within detached, semi-detached, or townhouse dwellings
• Providing additional exemptions from Site Plan Approval
• Updating complete application requirements for development proposals
• Establishing a process to amend or revoke pre-submission consultation letters issued prior to July 1, 2023

Open House

The City is seeking the community's comments during an online open house, before a staff recommendation is finalized and a decision is made by Council.

Date: Thursday, May 11, 2023

Time: 6 p.m.

Location: To be held electronically via Zoom and broadcast on YouTube.

Residents can participate in the Open House in three different ways:

• By mailing your comments / questions, or by e-mailing Taya Devlin, by Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
• By registering to participate via Zoom no later than by Monday, May 8, 2023 – see instructions at www.stcatharines.ca/planningopenhouse
• By registering to participate by telephone no later than by Monday, May 8, 2023. Please call 905.688.5601 ext. 1709 and leave a message with Taya Devlin, with your name and phone number. Staff will respond to your voicemail prior to the Online Open House to provide you with the call-in number for the event and additional information about the process.

Public Meeting

City Council is hosting a legislated Public Meeting on June 12, 2023, to receive input and comments on the proposed Official Plan Amendment, after which Council will consider staff’s recommendation on the amendment and make a decision on the matter.

Date: Monday, June 12th

Time: 6:00 PM

Location: To be held electronically via Zoom and broadcast on YouTube.

Visit www.stcatharines.ca/Council for information on how to access and participate in the meeting, and how to request and make a delegation before Council.

Written submissions must be received by noon the Thursday before the public meeting by mailing or delivering them to:

City of St. Catharines Legal and Clerk Services / City’s Clerks Division, City Hall, 50 Church Street, P.O. Box 3012, St. Catharines, ON, L2R7C2.

Refer to File Nos. 23 103589 OP

Email submissions may also be made by noon the day of the public meeting and directed to clerks@stcatharines.ca. Both oral and written comments and recommendations received will be taken into account by City Council in making a decision on the subject matter.