Winter Planning News

Hello everyone,

Last year was a big year for the City and especially for Planning Services as we were one of the few municipalities in Ontario to exceed our required annual housing creation target.

In 2023 Council supported the creation of over 3000 new units through development applications. These new units included a variety of housing types – single, semis, towns, additional residential units and apartments – and as 2024 gets underway it doesn’t show signs of slowing down slowing down. This ongoing growth requires infrastructure upgrades and support. Thankfully, by exceeding our housing goal in 2023 we have unlocked new funding possibilities to support those infrastructure needs. We are still very early in this process but will share more information as the funding and details are confirmed.

We are not resting on the success of 2023, however, we are taking the opportunity to further improve and refine processes to support new housing creation. This includes various amendments to the City’s Official Plan and zoning bylaws. These amendments would add more tools to our toolbox and help us keep the momentum we have built in accelerating housing construction.

Below is a summary of those changes and a link to the DASH record where all the submission materials can be found. The amendments will be heard by Planning Committee at their first Community Meeting on Feb. 15, 2024. There is no staff recommendation at a Community Meeting, as it is strictly to receive public and committee feedback.

There is always a lot going on at Planning Services! If you have any questions about the proposed changes, please feel free to reach out to our Project Manager, Laura Flaherty at lflaherty@cityofkingston.ca.

I would be happy to assist you with all other Planning Inquiries.

Thank you and Happy New Year!

James Bar 

Manager, Development Approvals  

jbar@cityofkingston.ca