Office Retention Policies

One of the key priorities and direction for the Downtown is to encourage a better balance between residential and employment growth.

We examined growth throughout the whole of the Downtown Urban Growth Centre (which includes the Downtown Core, Downtown Fairview, Downtown Cooksville and Downtown Hospital) and we are seeing a significant imbalance in growth, in favour of residential development.

There is currently no official plan policy framework in place to ensure a consistent approach to retaining office space. On May 10^th, we received direction from Planning and Development Committee to proceed with a city-initiated Official Plan Amendment (OPA).

Through this OPA, we are proposing policy that would require the replacement of any existing office space through redevelopment. We are also exploring ways that the OPA could support community retail uses.

For more information, please see the information report here.

In the Fall, we will return to Planning and Development Committee for a Public Meeting, however in the meantime, if you have any questions please contact Tim Lee.