The City of St. Catharines uses urban design guidelines to enhance the quality of development within the city by focusing on:
- The context of new buildings
- How those buildings look from the street
- How new buildings relate to existing buildings
- How the street itself is improved or enhanced by new development
Urban design guidelines also address the size and proportion of a building, its location, on-site parking areas and landscaping. Nodes and gateways (major intersections and downtown entry points) use urban design guidelines to implement enhanced site and building design to highlight the importance of these areas.
Where urban design guidelines apply
Urban design guidelines are applied to various types of city locations:
- Traditional or core neighbourhoods
- Suburban neighbourhoods
- Commercial corridors
- Nodes and gateways
- Heritage districts
View our Urban Design Location Map to discover all city locations and types of guidelines.
Residential uses
View residential urban design guidelines in effect for:
- Single dwellings on small infill lots in traditional neighbourhoods
- Single dwellings on small infill lots in suburban neighbourhoods
- Townhouse dwellings on private roads in suburban neighbourhoods
Commercial uses
View commercial urban design guidelines in effect for:
Downtown St. Catharines
View our Downtown Urban Design Guidelines, which establish site, building and streetscape design expectations for both private and public sector development within Downtown St. Catharines.
GO Transit Station
View our GO Transit Station Secondary Plan Urban Design Guidelines, which establish site, building and streetscape design expectations for both private and public development within the area surrounding the future GO Transit Station site.