No, these are not back-up plans for a Saturday night.
Secondary Plans are planning documents and policies developed by a municipality “and contain land use policies and mapping which provide more detailed direction pertaining to growth and development in specific areas of the city.”
These plans guide the use of land such as where housing, commercial businesses, institutional uses and parks should be located and provide policies for new development or redevelopment.
Secondary Plans are contained in the City’s Official Plan. The KW-Hospital Secondary Plan (now called the KW Hospital-Midtown Plan) is just over 25 years old and needs to be updated. To help implement new directions from the province, region, city and other agencies, the City of Kitchener is evaluating and updating the existing Secondary Plans to create new ones.
The Secondary Plans were deferred as part of the approval of the 2014 Official Plan to allow for the completion of background studies that would provide direction regarding appropriate land use and policy framework in the Secondary Plan areas.
The completed studies include:
- Planning Around Rapid Transit Stations (PARTS) Study
- Kitchener’s Cultural Heritage Landscape Study (CHL)
- Urban Design Guidelines
- Residential Intensification in Established Neighbourhoods (RIENS) Study
This is where you input is needed
The City is now reviewing the Secondary Plans and in the process of applying new Land Use Designations and Zoning Regulations. Draft Land Use Designations and Zoning Regulations have been applied to the properties in the boundary of the study area for your consideration and review online. Your comments and input is most welcome. Staff contact information is included on the Secondary Plans page if you have questions or need further explanation.
Your will find links to:
- staff presentation from the April 18 Open House
- the information panels that were on display (a BIG pdf file)
- a handout with additional background information
- the comment form awaiting your completion
Submit your comments by Friday May 10, 2019
Bonus Question….. What’s an Official Plan?
Official Plan – is a long-term planning document, which contains policies and plans related to land use for a 20-year time horizon for the city as a whole The Official Plan gets direction from and must conform to Provincial
and Regional policies. The Official Plan serves as a roadmap for the City to follow in managing future growth, land uses, and other matters. A new Official Plan for the City was approved on November 19, 2014.
Your Midtown KW Neighbourhood 
One thing worth noting is that this proposed secondary plan does not identify the corner defined by Andrew, Braun, Shanley, Moore, and Breithupt as a cultural heritage landscape, although the city’s own report noted that is is part of the cultural heritage landscape associated with Sacred Heart and the Breithupt Block. Other similar neighbourhoods in this plan receive cultural heritage recognition. Please consider submitting a comment on this point, if you feel that recognition of our cultural heritage landscape is important for the neighbourhood. It does provide some (very modest) protections to the style and built form of the neighbourhood.
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