New Zoning Bylaw

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Consultation has concluded.

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City Council enacted the new Kingston Zoning Bylaw (2022-62) on April 26, 2022. 


The City is preparing a new City-wide Zoning Bylaw to consolidate, update and replace the five separate, outdated zoning bylaws currently in effect across the City.

The new Zoning Bylaw will provide one comprehensive framework to guide and structure land use planning and development across the City.

Learn more about the New Zoning Bylaw.


New Zoning Bylaw banner


City Council enacted the new Kingston Zoning Bylaw (2022-62) on April 26, 2022. 


The City is preparing a new City-wide Zoning Bylaw to consolidate, update and replace the five separate, outdated zoning bylaws currently in effect across the City.

The new Zoning Bylaw will provide one comprehensive framework to guide and structure land use planning and development across the City.

Learn more about the New Zoning Bylaw.


Consultation has concluded.

Do you have questions about the New Zoning Bylaw project? Ask them below!

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    Why with such a demand for residential dwellings, especially for apartments would the CG Zone in the new Zoning By-Law accommodate one dwelling? The ability to accommodate a commercial main floor with a residential upper floor is a solid use of land and will help alleviate the housing problem. Further uses along the upper Princess St. And Gardiners Road area where there are prominent areas of CG Zone have already been accommodated. The recent apartment building developed on Gardiners Rd is one such example. These areas have a large number of CG zoned lands as proposed in By-Law that are already back onto existing residential and are well serviced to community amenities favored for apartment residences. Does it make any sense to have acres of land zoned for commercial abutting residential but restricted to one residential dwelling when we are trying to increase rental and affordable housing stock in the city? It looks like planners just migrated over the one dwelling in existing zoning with no consideration for the ability to expand the zoning to meet commercial and residential housing demands which could under prudent site plan developments within be accomodated.

    Patrick Hulley asked almost 2 years ago

    The new zoning by-law project was scoped as a consolidation of the existing zoning by-laws from the start. Staff have worked to tweak and rethink a number of topics through this third and final phase of the project, however, the commercial land use designations in the Official Plan do not broadly allow for the city-wide implementation of residential and mixed use intensification on commercial lands. The language of the Official Plan requires a detailed, site specific review to accommodate intensification in these areas. The new zoning by-law must conform with the Official Plan. The next Official Plan update is scheduled for 2023. We anticipate that this topic will form part of that work - if changes are proposed to the Official Plan through that work, corresponding amendments will be proposed to the new zoning by-law.

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    page 15 of 65 of the December 7th Planning Committee agenda package does not accurately describe the wright crescent area affected by the proposed plan. excerpt "The area is located immediately south of the Kingston Centre and excludes the properties that are currently already developed with apartment buildings and that is occupied by the Calvin Park Branch of the public library." the proposed plan directly affects Kingsland Townhomes, FCC6, 80 units, owner-occupied, 40 facing Wright Crescent and 40 on the inside. approximate total of value of units = $38 million. Crescent Towers FC52 is a 6 level condo owner occupied apartment building on Wright Crescent (not sure of the value of a unit? $400,00/unit?) why was there no targeted public engagement undertaken by the city, with the property owners affected by this proposed plan who reside along Wright Crescent?

    Barb Simard asked almost 2 years ago

    With respect to the statement on “affected properties”, staff are referring to the properties that will be rezoned or are subject to changes to their existing zoning permissions. The Calvin Park Branch of the Library, as an example, is “unaffected” as its current zoning is being maintained.

    Targeted engagement wasn’t undertaken as the underlying study which identified areas for intensification, the Central Kingston Growth Study, had as a Study Area the majority of the neighbourhoods that make up Central Kingston. The Planning Act permits municipalities to provide public notice in various ways. The municipality typically uses broader methods of communication, such as print media, social media, signage and websites, for projects with a correspondingly broad audience. Conversely, the municipality typically uses more targeted mailings to affected property owners for site-specific applications. As the Official Plan Amendment dealt more specifically with the Sir John A, Bath Rd, and Wright Cr. area, along with the other intensification areas, more direct letter notices were employed to inform residents of the proposed changes in proximity to the proposed intensification areas.

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    Hello, I am looking over the second draft. How can I make a recommendation?

    Lorimer.rw asked over 2 years ago

    Thank you for reviewing the second draft! Please send your comments via email to NewZBL@cityofkingston.ca.

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    Within the new downtown Zoning, By-Law for the downtown core as it applies to DT1 and DT2 Zones the maximum residential apartment units allocated is 123 units per net hectare or per 2.47 acres. Given a large site in the downtown might be .5 of an acre and given the need for housing in this sector does a yield of 30 apartment units or less make any sense for a sizeable development site in the core of 0.5 acres? Given the 6 storey cap (subject to angular plan) assuming an apartment with commercial main floor, underground parking and a foot print of 85% lot coverage that would yield 5 floors at roughly 18,000 sq.ft. per floor that based on a 30 unit yield would be an average of just over 3,000 sq.ft per unit. Would appear based on development trends that typically unit sizes in core markets are between 450 to 900 sq.ft. and that this yield factor calculation works counter to that. Thoughts with thanks?

    Patrick Hulley asked over 2 years ago

    The zoning and Official Plan policies that apply in the downtown are scheduled to be reviewed through the next phase of the Density by Design project, starting in 2022. The second draft of the new zoning by-law carried forward the permissions that currently apply in the existing zoning by-law.

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    Does the New Zoning By-Law include changes to the proposed land use designations throughout the city ? Or is this strictly the permitted uses, and any changes to a parcel's land use designation would need to come through an update of the official plan ? I like the overall direction of the by law, but the actual designations throughout the city remain very use-segregated. I would really like to see more opportunities for community oriented commercial/mixed uses outside of the few specific areas they are currently permitted to create more compact, complete communities with everyday needs/servicing within a 15 minute walk/cycle of home. Specifically, expanding existing commercial nodes in predominantly low density neighbourhoods, as well as development of new nodes in proximity to key express transit stop locations.

    FreddyJ_787 asked over 2 years ago

    Thank you for these thoughtful questions and comments. The only changes that are currently being proposed to the mapping in the Official Plan relate to riparian corridors (as per this discussion paper: https://www.cityofkingston.ca/documents/10180/38898539/Planning-Committee_Meeting-11-2021_Report-PC-21-032_Environmental-Protection-Areas-and-the-Ribbon.pdf/34ad5fd8-3ac1-ba28-e1fb-7b077f289e06?t=1619191672101). 

    So yes, you are correct that any fundamental changes to the use permission in the land use designations would need to be reflected in the Official Plan first. Staff are committed to reviewing the density and mixed use community policies in the Official Plan in the next Official Plan update (currently scheduled to begin in 2023). If changes are proposed to the OP policies through that process, corresponding amendments would then be proposed to the new zoning by-law.

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    Will the new zoning bylaw address the issue of homeowners turning their front yard (city property) into parking spaces? This is particularly a problem in the downtown where asphalt and bricks have been installed instead of planting a street tree. Mature street trees have been lost because they have no space as the road dominates public space. How can we make more room for both people and trees (not cars)?

    spatel asked over 2 years ago

    The New Zoning By-law regulates privately owned properties and does not regulate the City's street right-of-way. Within the property boundary, the second draft of the New Zoning By-law regulates the maximum width of a driveway in Clause 7.5.8. relative to the lot frontage.

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    Is the new city zoning plan considering the idea of “complete neighbourhoods”? This falls within the 15-minute city idea (which many major European cities are targeting), where core services such as schools, healthcare, grocery stores and parkland are within walking or cycling distance? This “build back better” idea is thought to address some of the inequalities that were historically built into the city. In this type of neighbourhood/ community, people are driving less so more people are likely to feel safe when using active transportation. It would also be a component of addressing the climate emergency and affordable housing.

    spatel asked over 2 years ago

    The passage of a new zoning by-law is required to conform with the policies of the City's Official Plan. The new zoning by-law proposes to include mixes of uses in locations where the Official Plan currently permits them, but the specific 15-minute city idea can't be brought into the new zoning by-law without first amending the Official Plan. If the next Official Plan update (currently scheduled to begin in 2023) proposes revisions to accommodate this idea, the new zoning by-law would then be amended accordingly.

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    Is there an executive summary/coles notes on the new zoning bylaw? or is the whole 283 page document new? Thank you.

    mwtilbrook asked over 2 years ago

    Please review the Second Draft Highlights document for a summary of the revisions from the first draft to the second draft of the new zoning by-law.

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    The older neighbourhoods downtown include many houses which are student rentals. Will Kingston preserve the original character and architecture of these and other older original buildings against redevelopment as neighbourhood demographics change? Kingston’s architectural history is still largely intact; we cannot afford to lose it.

    Barb MacLean asked over 2 years ago

    The City is currently in the process of completing the Central Kingston Growth Strategy study to guide infill and intensification in the residential neighbourhoods in the central area of the City. Zoning recommendations from the CKGS will be implemented in the New Zoning By-law. Please visit https://getinvolved.cityofkingston.ca/central-kingston-growth for more information and to participate in the creation of policies and zoning by-law regulations for the central area of the City.

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    Has the city ever considered mandating that a certain percentage of units in a new development be geared to income for low income individuals or placed on the geared to income waiting list? That way we both avoid too much class division, especially in the downtown developments where older, affordable units are being replaced with new luxury, expensive units AND we're reducing the painful wait people have waiting for GTI housing. Maybe this isn't even a possibility or something the city has power to enforce but I like the idea of helping out people who are being pushed out of gentrified areas due to the sheer un-affordability of these new units being built.

    OliOli asked over 2 years ago

    In the Planning Act (the legislation that gives municipalities the ability to create a zoning by-law), requiring affordable housing is called "Inclusionary Zoning". Right now, the use of Inclusionary Zoning is restricted only to those municipalities that are prescribed by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, or those municipalities who can scope the application of Inclusionary Zoning to areas within a protected major transit station area or a community planning permit system. At this time, Kingston does not meet any of the criteria required by the Planning Act, so Inclusionary Zoning cannot be used in the new zoning by-law. Information Report Number 20-229 provides some additional information about this topic, with links to other background reports.