Livable Oakville: New design manual

NRU
April 23, 2014
By Edward LaRusic

Oakville staff hopes that the town’s upcoming “Livable by Design Manual” will help spark a conversation with developers about new and infill development in the city.

NRU spoke to Oakville urban design manager Christina Tizzard, who said this new manual and associated official plan amendment will help implement the town’s 2011 official plan and bring clarity to the town’s urban design expectations.

“While other municipalities may have design guidelines from a town-wide or municipality-wide stand point, Oakville didn’t have those. We had them for north Oakville—the lands north of Dundas Street, but not for the lands south.”

Tizzard said that as the town urban designers had been providing comments on development applications for years, it made sense to codify the section’s expectations.

“It was a chance to put in text and images the expectations that we [have for] development if it is to occur in within the town. It’s not just for private developments, but includes the public realm.”

The manual is divided into three parts— first is a framework based on six guiding principles: identity, compatibility, connectivity, sustainability, legacy and creativity.

“In terms of implementation, we anticipate that when a development application comes forward these [guiding principles] would be referenced [in the urban design brief].”

The second part will comprise comprehensive direction for specific districts or forms of development. The third section incorporates public realm and development standards, such as parking, landscaping and pedestrian connections.

Tizzard said that staff is careful not to refer to the manual as guidelines, and hopes they will be used as a starting point for a conversation about what is appropriate development in Oakville.

“We see flexibility; we don’t want to stymie creativity… if an applicant is unable to meet some of those aspects, we want to understand why, and if there is a better or different way of achieving results.”

Tizzard describes the manual as a “living document.” Portions of the second part, such as the “Design Guidelines for Stable Residential Communities” have been finished, while others, such as the upcoming Midtown design guidelines, will be added as they are completed. She hopes to have a draft of public realm and site development standards ready for public consultation by the end of the year.

A recommendation report on the first part of the manual and a proposed official plan amendment for urban design policies is scheduled to go to the Oakville planning and development council at its May 12 meeting.