URBAN PLANNING: Toronto’s Official Plan

URBAN PLANNING: Toronto’s Official Plan

Did you know Toronto has a plan that sets out a vision for all areas and neighbourhoods across the city? Many people don’t, and we’re sharing the details in hopes that people like you will get involved as we plan for Toronto’s future.

This document is called an Official Plan (OP) and it is required under Provincial law. The Official Plan speaks about the future of the city and the community we want to create by laying out a vision for land use in the city. It is a policy document that guides growth and change in Toronto.

Given the tremendous amount of development pressure in the city, it is critical that growth is managed so that we adapt to meet the challenges of the future, while protecting the assets that we value most. We consult regularly with the public to make sure we understand the priorities and values of the communities who live, work and play in Toronto.

Understanding a few key terms will go a long way to helping you understand the Official Plan. Centres, Mixed Use Areas, Avenues, and Neighbourhood Areas are frequently referenced terms. What do they mean, how are they connected, and why are they relevant?

Directing growth is a theme that links these terms together. When planning Centres we are referring to clusters of high density development like North York Centre, Etobicoke or Scarborough Town Centre that have excellent transportation connections with substantial concentrations of housing and jobs.

Much of the lands within the Centres are designated as Mixed Use Areas. These areas are “mixed use” because they provide opportunities to shop, work, and play in the same place. They are places where the city directs greater intensification.

Avenues refer to geographic areas along major roadways that have the capacity to absorb more residential and employment growth. Examples of Avenues include Eglinton Avenue, Sheppard Avenue, or Bloor Street West. Unlike the clusters of high-rise development that occur downtown and in the Centres, the Avenues are ideally suited to mid-rise development, generally buildings under 10-storeys. By developing these Avenues, we can protect Toronto’s neighbourhoods from the large-scale changes that accompany urban growth, while linking growth to the transportation network.

Finally, a very important feature of the Official Plan is the protection granted to the predominantly low-rise residential communities that are so common across Toronto, called Neighbourhood Areas. When included with park space, Neighbourhood Areas reflect the majority of all land uses in the Official Plan and are not meant to see significant change. New development will occur within the Neighbourhood Areas but this change is intended to reflect the character of the surrounding community.

The fundamental principles that inform the OP are diversity and opportunity, beauty, connectivity, leadership and stewardship. These principles provide a foundation that the policies in the OP build upon. To learn more about and view the Official Plan, visit www.toronto.ca/planning/official_plan