FAQs
- accommodate significant population and employment growth;
- act as focal areas for education, commercial, recreational, and cultural uses;
- accommodate and support the transit network and provide connection points for inter- and intra-regional transit; and,
- and support affordable, accessible, and equitable housing.
What is a Secondary Plan?
A land use planning tool used to outline a vision, plan, and policies to guide growth and change within a specific area of a municipality. It is implemented through an Official Plan amendment.
What is an Official Plan?
An Official Plan sets out a community’s vision and goals for the future. Its a policy document that guides the short-term and long-term development in your community. It applies to all lands within the municipal boundary and the policies within it provide direction for the size and location of land uses, provision of municipal services and facilities, and preparation of regulatory bylaws to control the development and use of land.
Check out the City of Peterborough’s Official Plan here: https://www.peterborough.ca/en/doing-business/official-plan.aspx
What is a Zoning By-Law?
A planning tool that controls the use of a parcel/land. Zoning By-Laws implement the Official Plan and provide for its day-to-day administration. Zoning By-Laws are legally enforceable, and construction or new development that doesn't comply with a zoning by-law is not allowed, and the municipality will refuse to issue a building permit. Zoning By-Laws set out detailed requirements such as minimum lot areas, maximum building height and number of parking spaces that need to be provided.
What is a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS)?
A land use planning tool available to municipalities in Ontario that combines zoning by-law amendments, site plan approvals and minor variances into a single application and approval process. A CPPS is implemented through a Community Planning Permit By-law, which replaces a municipality’s zoning by-law.
What is a Strategic Growth Area?
As defined in the City of Peterborough Official Plan, areas that are planned to:
What is Land Use?
Land use refers to the way land is utilized by property owners. Through land use planning, we can determine the best uses of lands to achieve the goals of the community, municipality or senior levels of government. Land uses are often classified into designations like “residential” or “commercial” and often outline what developments and uses are permitted.
What is a “community hub”?
A community hub is a centralized location for a range of services (e.g., retail, health and social services, cultural and recreational amenities). The City’s Official Plan identifies several key intersections that have the potential to reinforce a community hub through intensification, the design of adjacent buildings and improvements to the public realm. These locations are intended to accommodate higher densities; however, every community hub is unique and is defined by local needs, services and resources. The locations of community hubs are shown on the Draft Land Use Precinct Concept.
Is CPPS replacing all zoning by-laws? Why have a CPPS or staff variation at all as opposed to just updating the zoning by-law?
A CPP By-law can be applied to a specific geographic area or city-wide. In November 2023, Council directed staff to proceed with the recommended option in the CPPS Background Review and Strategic Directions Report to implement a CPPS for the Strategic Growth Areas. The completion of a CPP By-law is one of the City’s key initiatives in its Housing Action Plan as part of the CMHC Housing Accelerator Fund. In March 2025, Council will decide whether to complete a comprehensive update to the zoning by-law for the remaining lands in the city or implement a city-wide CPP by-law.
A CPPS enables the City to streamline development approvals by combining multiple application processes into a single process and shortening the timeframe for approvals i.e., a 45-day timeframe in contrast to the cumulative timeframes (minimum 150 days) for current application processes. A CPP By-law additionally provides the City the ability to impose conditions of approval on the issuance of a Planning Permit. Being able to apply conditions of approval helps to process and move development applications forward to proceed with a building permit and limits amendments for speculation purposes. Further, a CPP By-law can enable the City to consider increased height and density in exchange for “facilities, services and matters” (i.e., community benefits such as affordable housing, green building design, parks and open spaces).
Why are the maximum building heights in the Official Plan being revisited?
In 2023, the Province's Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing assigned the City of Peterborough with a housing target of 4,700 new homes by 2031. City Council has committed to the Provincially-assigned housing target and endorsed the City of Peterborough's Housing Pledge outlining the strategies and actions to meet its housing target and accelerate the speed and supply of housing.
Through the technical work completed for the secondary plan for the Strategic Growth Areas, it has been determined that flexibility on building heights is advisable to enable higher density development and, subsequently, increase the financial feasibility of development projects in many cases. Flexibility with respect to building heights will also enable the City to require “facilities, services and matters” (i.e., community benefits such as affordable housing, green building design, parks and open spaces which support the vision, goals and objectives of the Official Plan) in exchange for additional height and density.
What previous studies or projects have been completed to inform this work?
The Secondary Plan for the Strategic Growth Areas builds on the policies of the Official Plan and other technical studies previously completed by the City, such as the urban design guidelines for the Central Area and Mixed-Use Corridors, Transportation and Cycling Master Plans and parks and open space studies. Please see the “Related Projects” content pane available on this webpage for more information on these projects.