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 Urban design guidelines are used by the City of Toronto to clarify the urban design objectives of the Official Plan and zoning by-laws. They assist in the translation of policies and performance standards into a variety of three-dimensional options, for consideration by the municipality during the development approval process.
The City of Toronto Official Plan states that urban design guidelines
will be an important part of its implementation strategy. Several
types of guidelines are used including:
(1) DISTRICT or AREA-BASED GUIDELINES - Table of Contents
These guidelines include development, context or area plans for
large sites, guidelines for sites which will be developed in phases
and guidelines for nodes or the development of discrete sections
of Avenues or major streets. They are often generated during the
consideration of site-specific Official Plan amendments, Zoning
By-law amendments, subdivision applications or Site Plan Control
applications.
(2) CITY-WIDE AND SPECIFIC BUILDING OR DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES
These are guidelines on urban design matters, which apply throughout
the whole city. Some of these guidelines deal with such overall matters as, streetscape
design, public safety and accessibility. Others are used in the
design of specific building types and environments, such as in-fill
townhouses, tall buildings, sites with drive-through facilities, parking lots,
the PATH system and big box retail.
The guidelines
in these documents articulate and clarify the “public interest”
in site design and builtform, to achieve good urban design both
locally and throughout the city as a whole.
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