Waterfront Hotel Planning Study

The City is resuming work on The Waterfront Hotel Planning Study. When the study is completed, it will provide guidance in the redevelopment of this site. Located next to two of Burlington's most significant landmarks, Spencer Smith Park and the Brant Street Pier, we need your input to make sure the new development reflects a high quality of urban design that enhances our community's access to the waterfront and the downtown.

Please note: The Waterfront Hotel Planning Study is separate from the development application process. For more information on the development application for 2020 Lakeshore Road, visit: burlington.ca/2020lakeshore

Please visit and subscribe to Get Involved Burlington for notification of future study updates:
Get Involved Burlington - Waterfront Hotel Study

Latest Update

New Committee Date of April 12

The Waterfront Hotel Planning Study has received a lot of public interest. To allow everyone to comment, the study and staff report PL-28-22 will be presented to the Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility Committee on Tuesday, April 12. 

Meeting details:
Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility (CPRM) Committee
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Beginning at 1 p.m.
Online - Council and Committee Live Stream

If you would like to comment on the study, register to speak at Council. The deadline to sign up to speak at this meeting is April 11, 2022 at noon.

Please see below for more information and to read the staff report and appendices or visit Get Involved Burlington/waterfront-hotel-study.

Recommended Preferred Concept Plan and Report now available

At the April 5 Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility (CPRM) Committee Meeting, Council will consider staff report PL-28-22 recommending ‘in-principle’ endorsement of the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study prepared by The Planning Partnership. This includes:

• the Recommend Preferred Concept Plan for the Waterfront Hotel site,
• draft official plan policies,
• site-specific urban design guidelines and
• directions for a future zoning bylaw amendment.

The Waterfront Hotel Planning Study findings are discussed in staff report PL-28-22 and in Appendix A of PL-28-22, Waterfront Hotel Planning Study Planning Justification Report prepared by The Planning Partnership:

• Staff report PL-28-22 Waterfront Hotel Planning Study
• PL-28-22 Appendix A: Burlington Waterfront Hotel Planning Study Planning Justification Report prepared by The Planning Partnership Limited (March 23, 2022)
• PL-28-22 Appendix B: Preferred Concept (2022) prepared by The Planning Partnership Limited (March 23, 2022)
• PL-28-22 Appendix C: City of Burlington Brant & Lakeshore Planning Study Terms of Reference (Jan. 22, 2015)
• PL-28-22 Appendix D: Feedback Received on the Emerging Preferred (2022)

The Waterfront Hotel Planning Study Planning Justification Report prepared by The Planning Partnership provides:

• Project background and context
• Policy and legislative context
• Overview of public engagement that took place during the Study
• Summary of the technical work that supported the Study
• Overview of the Preferred Concept
• Overview of recommended implementation tools including draft official plan policies, directions for a future zoning bylaw amendment and site-specific urban design guidelines.
• Overall conclusions

The staff report and appendices are also available on the Burlington Calendar.

February 2022 Update

On Feb. 15, the City hosted a virtual public open house to learn about the study process and hear from the project consultants. The team from The Planning Partnership presented the emerging preferred concept plan for the site, followed by a question & answer period.

A recording of the meeting and the presentation (PDF) is now available

We are looking for your feedback on the emerging preferred concept (2022). It will provide guidance on:

• the built form - the function, shape and configuration of the buildings and their relationship to area streets and open spaces - ,
• the public realm - the publicly accessible open spaces such as parks, squares, plazas, courtyards, and pathways - as well as
• mobility and
• access to the Waterfront Hotel site.

Please provide your feedback on this concept by Tuesday, March 1 by:

1. Submitting your feedback on Get Involved Burlington

or

1. Emailing staff lead samantha.romlewski@burlington.ca

Highlights of the Emerging Preferred Concept (2022)

Built Form

• Height range of 15-22 storeys
• 3-storey podium/street wall
• Active at-grade uses like commercial, retail and restaurants
• Focus on a strong pedestrian relationship to the streets and public spaces

Public Realm

• Enhance Brant Street as a gateway to the Downtown, the Waterfront and the Waterfront Trail
• Enhance the entrance to Spencer Smith Park and the Brant Street public view corridor
• Enhance John Street view corridor and inclusion of a privately-owned public space (POPS)
• Additional parkland identified on the west and south side of the site
• Maintain existing trees along Lakeshore Road

Mobility and Access

• Site access for parking and loading from Elizabeth Street
• No lay-by parking along Lakeshore Road
• Active Transportation route along Lakeshore Road, including a bike lane
• No surface parking on site

January 2022 Update

Work on the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study is Resuming

On Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022, City staff presented Council with a study update through staff report PL-15-22.

With the re-examination of the New Official Plan (Taking a Closer Look at the Downtown)
Project completed, approval of the new Official Plan (under appeal), as well as the Minster
of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s approval, with modifications, of the Regional Official
Plan Amendment 48, the City is able to resume the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study.

City staff, with support from the project consultant, The Planning Partnership, will pick up the work where it left off in 2018 and complete the study. The work is estimated to take four months and will use community input to-date to help develop a final preferred concept.

Next Steps:

This is the work left to do:

• Phase 4: Report and Recommendation of Preferred Land Use Concept (Q1 2022).
  This phase of the study involves the selection of a preferred concept and the preparation of a Planning Justification Report.
• Phase 5: Official Plan Policies, Zoning and Urban Design Guidelines (Q2 2022)
  The fifth phase of the study includes the development of draft site-specific official plan policies, zoning regulations and urban design and implementation guidelines. This phase will also include a public open house, presentation to Committee and final delivery of the implementing Official Plan Amendment and Zoning Bylaw Amendment.

Background

In 2017 and 2018 the City began looking at a planning study to guide the redevelopment of the waterfront site at Lakeshore Road and the foot of Brant Street, including the Waterfront Hotel at 2020 Lakeshore Road., City staff gathered feedback through visioning workshops, public and stakeholder engagement.

In mid-2018, the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study was placed on hold due to other various priorities in the Community Planning Department such as the New Official Plan process.

June 2018 Update

On Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at 1 p.m. an update on the status and progress of the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study was presented to Burlington City Council at the Planning and Development Committee meeting.

View a copy of the presentation from June 5, 2018

View a copy of the report presented to Council on June 5, 2018 [PB-23-18]

In mid-2018 the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study was placed on hold due to other various priorities in the Community Planning Department such as the New Official Plan process and for staff to re-visit the Study workplan while considering the set of key policy directions endorsed by Council in June 2018.

Past Events

Public consultation and engagement for the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study began in May 2017. The feedback gathered from the community has helped to inform the development of two emerging preferred concepts:

Concept 1
Concept 2

Please see below to read more about each of the public workshops, including links to presentation materials and summaries of the public feedback received (What We Heard).

Contact

Samantha Romlewski
Community Planning Department
samantha.romlewski@burlington.ca
Tel. 905-333-7600, ext. 7402