Question:

What is an Urban Design Brief ? When and why is this required as part of a development application?

Answer:

An Urban Design Brief is an illustrative report which provides an overall urban design framework for a proposed development, usually associated with an Official Plan Amendment or a Zoning Bylaw Amendment application. The report typically provides a description of the process and rationale for site development, building design and landscaping elements. It also contains a contextual analysis of the proposed development and illustrates how the proposed development fits within its surrounding context in terms of building mass, scale, height, architectural character, materials and architectural details, colour etc. The document will also take into consideration any special issues such as heritage concerns, sustainable design criteria, protection and preservation of significant natural features etc., and illustrate how these issues are addressed in the design process.

The main purpose of an Urban Design Brief is to demonstrate how the proposed development will be directed by good urban design principles and how well it will contribute towards developing a healthy and sustainable built environment.

The report provides urban design guidance for the development review process and generally contains several visual exhibits, plans and illustrations as well as written description in support of the illustrations.

WCGI has considerable experience in the preparation of Urban Design Briefs for a wide range of project types.

Author: Muna Huq, Urban Designer (WCGI) Muna's Bio

Question:

Is it important for a landowner to participate in Public Meetings that are advertised by a municipality and are part of the process leading to amendments to the Official Plan or Zoning By-law?

Answer:

Not participating in the process is generally interpreted as the landowner having no interest in the matter – which could have very unfortunate results. It is at Public Meetings and by participating in the process that landowners can make concerns known and influence outcomes. This can be a constructive process. Do not subscribe to the sentiment of some who pessimistically hold the opinion that, “citizen participation is a device whereby public officials induce non-public individuals to act in a way the officials desire.” Instead, participating constructively in good faith can frequently achieve significant improvements to the original concept by identifying issues, considering options, and finding resolutions to problems.

In addition and very importantly, if the final planning document is not to the landowner’s liking, the Planning Act looks dimly on parties that have not participated in the planning process. Appeals of Official Plan and Zoning amendments are generally not permitted if there is no record that the owner has participated in the process. The principle appears to be that someone cannot step in at the last stage and sabotage (delay, frustrate) the final amendment, by way of an appeal, if they have not participated in the planning process and attempted to have their concerns and interests addressed at an earlier stage.

In short, landowners must participate or be represented in the Public Meeting process, unless they are prepared to completely accept the ultimate outcome.

Author: John Ghent, Senior Associate (WCGI) John's Bio