The City has released the first draft of the new Zoning By-law, a set of regulations that sets rules on what can be built as of right, without having to seek specific permission. Residents are encouraged to review the draft by-law and provide feedback both online and in person at open-house events.
The complete draft, including maps, can be found on the City’s public engagement site, engage.ottawa.ca. You can review our Zoning By-law primer first, or dive straight into the review on engage.ottawa.ca.
The new Zoning By-law will implement the policies and directions in the City’s Official Plan, which outlines a comprehensive land-use policy framework to guide growth and development within the city to the year 2046. The new Zoning By-law will be critical to City efforts to address housing affordability in Ottawa by facilitating growth that aligns with intensification goals outlined in the Official Plan.
You can join a virtual open house to discuss the draft Zoning By-law on Thursday, June 20. Consultations will continue through the summer until the end of September. Visit engage.ottawa.ca for dates of more open houses throughout the consultation period.
Staff will compile the results of the consultation and use it to update a second draft of the Zoning By-law, which will be presented for consideration in the spring of 2025 at a joint meeting of the Planning and Housing Committee and the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. Public consultations will then continue until the fall of 2025 when a final draft is scheduled to be considered at Joint Committee once more and then approved by Council.
