County of Brant Council received information regarding a proposal to initiate a zoning by-law amendment for downtown Paris during its Council meeting on Tuesday, October 8, 2024.
The amendment will look to review the County’s Comprehensive Zoning By-Law (CZBL) regulations and bring them in line with the Downtown Paris Master Plan, which was adopted in October 2019.
With the intent of creating a vibrant downtown, the Master Plan focuses on public spaces, improved connectivity, and enhancing the town’s relationship with its rivers. It also includes recommendations about streetscape redevelopment, infill opportunities, green infrastructure, and improved pedestrian access.
Brandon Kortleve, a planner for the County of Brant, said there are several reasons they are looking into a County-initiated zoning by-law amendment for downtown Paris.
“There’s lots of moving parts with respect to this area. We need to look at some of the recommendations that have been made by the Downtown Paris Master Plan and how they can be implemented,” he said. “We need to look at some of the policies of our 1987 Special Policy Area with respect to flooding, and we need to make sure those are being implemented properly. We also need to consider how Council’s direction from January 30 [2024], specifically regarding increasing residential and commercial density in downtown Paris, can be implemented.”
Because construction for the upcoming Downtown Dig is expected to begin on Grand River Street North in Spring 2025, the zoning project is being undertaken in advance to ensure that clear directions and standards are available when construction begins.
He said that throughout the process, staff will be looking at the social, environmental and economic of the CZBL and amending/proposing new zoning standards for the downtown area including:
- Building height, bulk and character
- Permitted uses and residential-to-commercial ratios
- Increased density
- Parking requirements, and
- Implementation of the 1987 Special Policy Area (in coordination with the Grand River Conservation Authority) to ensure public safety during flooding events.
Kortleve said that before they come back to council with an official recommendation to proceed, staff is looking at a public consultation plan that has been developed to go above and beyond the Planning Act’s minimum requirements including:
- Online feedback – Collected through a dedicated Engage Brant project page.
- Public notice – to meet the minimum standard of the Planning Act, this will be sent to all addresses within 120 metres of Downtown Paris.
- Information Poster – displayed in the Downtown Paris Customer Service Office with a QR code link to the Engage Brant page.
- Visualizations – To provide clear and tangible representations of what can be complex zoning requirements, the current and potential permissions will be visualized to assist with decision making and feedback.
- Public information meeting – to present potential amendments as information prior to a recommendation meeting and to fulfill the minimum requirements of the Planning Act.
“The goal of this Zoning By-law Amendment, is really to provide the opportunity for everyone to be involved,” said Kortleve. “…We’re intending to kind of launch the engagement for this towards the end of this month, but then work towards draft amendments, that would be the step after engagement. That would come forward again for discussion with Council, and then we’ll take that back and come forward again with a recommendation to Council similar to the typical zoning process.”
The vote to receive the information was later approved through a unanimous vote.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
