Urban Design Standards- Project Status Update 05-09

T O W N O F C O L L I N G W O O D

Urban Design Standards

PROJECT UPDATEMay 2009

C o l l i n g w o o d U r b a n D e s i g n S t a n d a r d s P r o j e c t U p d a t e

IntroductionThis report outlines the progress on the Urban Design Standards project, including: the Project’s purpose; scope; outline of select findings for the various analysis modules; examples of proposed regulations; and the direction for the near future.

During the Town Council meeting of December 1st, 2008, Council confirmed the overall direction of the project and the specific urban design char-acteristics that they felt needed to be addressed in their discussion with staff. Since that meeting staff have undertaken a significant amount of analysis and stakeholder engagement. The in-formation generated through these efforts has resulted in meaningful insights that will be used to guide the drafting of the new standards.

LIVABILITY REFERS TO THE COMBINA-TION OF ELEMENTS THAT MAKES A

STREET, NEIGHBOURHOOD, OR COM-MUNITY A HEALTHY, ACTIVE, LIVELY

PLACE TO LIVE

Urban DesignGood public spaces don’t happen overnight or on their own. All the places and spaces of our built environments (the streets, neighborhoods, towns and cities where we live) have been created by the choices and ideas of the community such as de-sign purposes, regulations, budgets, and other factors. The Urban Design Standards will become part of this mix, helping direct the way Colling-wood evolves.

It is important to note that the Urban Design Standards will not result in a master plan for the community. Good design standards can set the stage for civic spaces and the structure for great neighbourhoods, districts and streets; however, the Standards can not solve every problem, or meet every challenge within the community, and they will not dictate the design of every develop-ment or feature within the community. It may take many years for the full effect of the Stan-

dards to become evident, as new development brings only incremental changes to the commu-nity.

Urban design essentially involves combining the elements that make up our communities (the open spaces, buildings and streets) in such a way that they provide livable environments for the activities of our community. This can be referred to as placemaking, taking spaces and with the care-ful arrangement of these elements creating places out of them. The elements that make up these environments can be generally grouped in the following interrelated categories for the purposes of this project:

I. site layout:II. landscape;III. architecture; and, IV. uses.

Collingwood has the benefit of a strong sense of place that is defined in part by, heritage architec-ture, proximity to Georgian Bay and other signifi-cant natural features, a pattern of development that is easily navigable on foot, an extensive trail network, and landmark buildings and sites of cultural importance.

DESIGN STANDARDS ARE FUTURE ORIENTED DIRECTION, NOT A MASTER PLAN THAT DICTATES DESIGN SEEK-ING TO FIX EVERY ERROR OR LOST

OPPORTUNITY

As new development occurs within Collingwood it is important for it to support and add to the community’s overall sense of place and livability. This means in part, that it should develop in a way that fits with the local context and builds upon existing assets. The Provincial Growth Management Planning requirements for increased infill development make this increasingly impor-tant.

The analysis being conducted for this project is intended to help identify key characteristics, ele-


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ments and assets that make up the existing urban fabric of Collingwood. This information will be used during the drafting of the Standards. The direction provided by these new design regula-tions will build upon the physical assets of the community and also support the implementation of various Town initiatives and policies, such as those associated with active transportation, sus-tainability, and arts & culture.


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Urban Design StandardsPart One: Background

Outline of project scope, stages, and stakeholder engagement

Project Scope

Scope

Goals

Foci

Process

Structure of Standards

Typical Approach

Public Realm

Hierarchy

Performance Standards

Function

Analysis

Analyses Methods

Stakeholder Engagement

Engagement Methods

Outreach

Online Tools

Milestones

Committees

Project Scope

ScopeThe scope of the Ur-ban Design Standards Project includes inves-tigation, analysis and development of regu-lations associated with the way new devel-opment in Colling-wood will look and function by focusing new development on people oriented and human scaled design. Therefore the primary concern is maximizing the value of the public

realm and the elements of the physical environ-ment that define it and influence its effectiveness.

For the purposes of this project urban design means:

The definition of space through the careful arrangement and design of architecture, landscaping, and use, to create livable places for people.

GoalsThe Town intends to achieve the following basic goals with this project:

1) Direct new development to fulfill the commu-nity’s vision (as expressed in the Official Plan and other Plans and initiatives, Council policies, and past community participation and visioning proc-esses) and building upon its existing assets.

2) Ensure that new development adds to the liv-ability of the community with high quality design and function by requiring that specific character-istics and performance standards are met.

• Scope

• Goals

• Process

3) Protect the health of the natural environment by reducing the environmental impacts associated with new development.

PRIMARY CONCERN IS IMPROVING THE PUBLIC REALM

4) Improve community engagement, understand-ing of regulations, and streamline the develop-ment application review process, by creating de-sign standards that effectively and efficiently communicate the requirements to stakeholders (specifically: Town Council, Town Staff, commu-nity members, and development applicants).

For the design standards, the characteristics of new development will be grouped accordingly in the following categories:

a) site layout: the location of major buildings/components, setbacks, connectivity, street wall, on site storage, pedestrian oriented design, context, natural features, block and street patterns.

b) landscaping: open space features, screening, street trees, parks, gathering areas, low impact development (LID) techniques, tree cover.

c) architecture: entrances, display windows, blank walls, building articulation, materials, upper floor setbacks, details, human scale features, green building techniques, relationships between public and private spaces.

d) site function: relationship of uses on site, sus-tainability, vehicular and pedestrian movement, context.

THE STANDARDS ARE INTENDED TO GUIDE DEVELOPMENT TO IMPROVE THE LIVABILITY OF COLLINGWOOD.


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ProcessThe following outlines the Project stages and gen-eral status of each. Note that these are not mutu-ally exclusive activities and should be considered parallel work programs within the Project, as they build upon each other with significant overlap.

Stage 1: Refine project scope

Goal: � Definition of the Project in terms of the Town’s policy framework, including policies and initiatives such as: Official Plan, Sustainability Plan, Heritage District Plan, Active Transportation Initiative, Zoning By-law.Status:� Substantially complete for analysis com-ponents of the Project. Further refinement will be required as policies are examined during the drafting of the new design regulations.

THE ANALYSIS STAGE IS NECESSARY TO DEVELOP AWARENESS OF THE

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Stage 2: Analysis and assessment of current conditions

Goal: � Conduct a series of analyses of the physi-cal characteristics of Collingwood to determine 1) built form patterns and characteristics, and 2) op-portunities and constraints for improved urban design within the community. This includes vari-ous methods such as site visits and inventories, aerial photograph analysis, site photo review, re-view of recent development applications, and re-view of best management examples, mapping analysis, and stakeholder input.Status: �The majority of staff’s time since meeting with Town Council in December has been dedi-cated to this stage. This is the stage that identifies the aspects of Collingwood’s physical form that will be addressed by the Standards. The second part of this status report outlines the results of this stage.

Stage 3: Identify contemporary model standards and best practices

Goal: � Assess examples of existing urban design standards to identify model standards that could be used to support the Project goals. Status:� Preliminary work on this stage has been completed in combination with stage 2. It will be further refined, during the drafting of the Stan-dards.

Stage 4: Develop standards outline/framework

Goal: � Based on the policy direction and contex-tual understanding developed from Stages 1 & 2, a framework for the new standards will be devel-oped. This will include elements of the model standards and best practices identified in stage 3 and then adapted for the Collingwood context accordingly. Status:� Pending further work on stages 2 and 3.

Stage 5: Develop 1st draft of Urban Design Stan-dards

Goal: � Drafting, and testing of language for the standards; incorporating the results from Stages 1 through 4.Status: �Pending progress on stage 4 work.


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Structure of Standards

Typical ApproachWhat most communi-ties usually have in mind when looking at urban design stan-dards is the regulation of colours, signage, architecture, streetscapes and other similar features that are focused primarily on cosmetic controls (largely due to the fact that many early design regulations were fo-cused on heritage preservation). The project to develop the Urban Design Stan-dards for the Town of Collingwood, ad-dresses some of these same items, but also includes function, use relationships, and ty-pological patterns within the community. By building upon this range of elements, and not just aesthetics, the Urban Design Stan-dards will ensure that new developments

will be more responsive to the community’s con-text and fulfill the Town’s policies.

Typical guidelines are massively detailed with do’s and don’t’s, with a significant focus on the things that the community does not wish to see in new developments. Instead of focusing on things that are not permitted, the intent is to work from principles of good design, focusing on the basic patterns existing in the community that define the physical context or Collingwood’s sense of place. This will allow for creativity and flexibility within

• Typically guidelines are limited to archi-tecture and aesthetics

• Collingwood’s stan-dards will take into account relationships and interconnectivity of uses

• Integrating policy direction into Urban Design Standards

• Focused on the public realm and human scaled, pedestrian oriented design

• Hierarchy of require-ments

• Performance based

the Standards to guide future development so that it fits.

Public realmThe public realm is the most important compo-nent of the physical environment that will be con-trolled through the Standards. This consists of all the spaces in between buildings and defined by their facades, landscaping, and other physical features. It is in the public realm, the streets, parks, public plazas, and such, where daily life is played out.

Design standards that look at improving existing development patterns and the structures of build-ings instead of architectural details alone, facili-tate the creation of a coherent physical environ-ment made of buildings with appropriate scale and massing, sites that are connected, and streeetscapes that are people oriented.

URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS DIFFER FROM ARCHITECTURAL STANDARDS; THEIR PRIORITY IS THE SPACES BE-

TWEEN BUILDINGS NOT NECESSARILY THE BUILDINGS THEMSELVES

Basing design controls with this kind of approach will allow new developments to reflect ongoing processes of change and growth. The result will be a flexible and responsive system which re-spects the context of Collingwood without stag-nating the design. This decreases the importance of architectural style and will allow the Town to be effective without being dictatorial. Addition-ally, this will help ensure that, short-term design trends, or cycles of development activity will not negatively impact the implementation of the overall community vision. By focusing on the public realm the Standards will also respect de-velopment applicants‘ intentions for the design of areas on their sites that they do not inherently share with the community/public realm.


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HierarchyThe design standards will be hierarchical, with some that apply to all areas of Collingwood and more refined requirements for particular uses, subareas, and contexts. Areas of particular con-cern, or those with unique characteristics such as waterfront locations, or corridors along Colling-wood’s arterial streets, will have specifically defined ur-ban design regulations. Some uses will also have regula-tions specific to them, such as:

• large format retail;• large parking lots;• auto oriented uses;• drive-through uses; and, • civic buildings.

THE DESIGN STANDARDS WILL BE BASED ON PRINCIPLES OF GOOD DE-SIGN, NOT CORRECTING BUILDINGS

AND SITES THAT HAVE STRAYED OUT-SIDE ACCEPTABLE AESTHETIC LIMITS

The Standards will have progressive levels of re-quirements correlating to the size and complexity of development proposals. This way smaller de-velopments will not be overburdened with re-quirements that could unnecessarily increase de-velopment complexity, length of time for design and review, and development costs.

Performance StandardsWhile a complete lack of design control can result in too much variation in the physical environ-ment, and reduced sense of place with little conti-nuity to define a cohesive context; the more con-trolling and restrictive the standards, the less di-versity that will be present as time passes. This project will attempt to define a balance between these two extremes.

The Standards will be crafted to allow for enough flexibility and control to encourage creativity while building upon the characteristics that define the community, such as:

• pleasant streetscapes lined with trees and hu-man scaled architecture;

• integration of the natural environment into de-velopments;

• a regular street and block pattern that facilitates easy movement through neighbourhoods; and,

•overall walkable scale.

The flexibility of the regula-tions will be managed by clearly defining the areas of allowed variance, how it will be measured, and describing specific performance measures that must be met.

Left: Whiteboard sketch from work to develop hierarchy for the Urban De-sign Standards

How the Standards FunctionPart of the project is the careful crafting of the rules themselves and how they would be used. The Standards will be written and illustrated in such a way that they are easily useable by all stakeholders (community, staff, applicants, Town Council)

Above: Drawing showing the basic relationships sites and building can have in terms of design. The Standards will guide development to use these relationships appropriately in an effort to define a livable public realm.


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The Standards will incorporate clear descriptions of:

•the intent•policy direction•applicability and terminology•examples of acceptable designs•how to use the document•how special sub-areas and use specific rules apply•the process for amendments/variances/waivers (including performance standards and parameters)•definitions

TO MAKE THE STANDARDS MORE EASILY UNDERSTOOD, THEY WILL IN-CLUDE GRAPHICS, ILLUSTRATIONS

AND PHOTOGRAPHS


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Analysis

MethodsThe analysis portion of the Project is intended to develop an aware-ness of the design characteristics of Collingwood’s physi-cal environment; es-sentially why things look and function the way they do. This is necessary to create contextually sensitive design standards.

This stage includes a number of different techniques, each focusing on a different aspect of the town’s urban form and design characteristics. The analysis ‘modules’ are listed below.

1) Site Critiques: includes site visits and assessments of site photographs. This helps develop an understanding of the opportunities and challenges within existing developments.

2) Delayering: a mapping method that highlights and contrasts specific elements of the built form to identify large scale street, building and block patterns. These help with recognition of large scale patterns and opportunities not easily identifiable otherwise.

3) Façade Study: an analysis of the facades in the Heritage District, to identify architectural patterns and proportions that could be incorporated into standards to make new developments more human scaled, and address common issues of contemporary buildings which often comprise of unappealing blank facades and out of proportion elements.

• Various analyses modules to assess different aspects of Collingwood’s urban form

• Site critiques

• Delayering

• Facade study

• Scenario testing

• Cultural asset map-ping

4) Scenario Testing: development of scaled 3D drawings and aerial photo critiques of site layouts to identify urban design opportunities and design solutions that address the Project’s goals.

AWARENESS OF DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

IS NECESSARY FOR DRAFTING STAN-DARDS THAT WILL SUPPORT THE

PUBLIC REALM AT MULTIPLE LEVELS

5) Cultural Asset Mapping: a process of mapping the locations of cultural assets within Collingwood so that they can be integrated into new developments through such things as site design, architectural details, and public art.


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Stakeholder Engagement

Engagement MethodsFor this project a vari-ety of methods are being used to inform the public, and engage stakeholders for their input on the Project. These methods in-clude:

•newspaper notices and article; •presentations at meetings; •workshops and roundtable discus-sions; •staff survey; •online blog site; and•video production.

These efforts will con-tinue through all stages of the project.

OutreachStaff have sent out over 130 letters to persons and organizations to gather information from people with direct experience in site development, and planning and design in Collingwood. This in-cludes developers, planners, architects, engi-neers, landscape architects, and community groups.

Responses have ben received from a number of these stakeholders and staff will be facilitating roundtable discussions with these individuals to review potential urban design regulations as they are drafted. It is expected that these discussions will provide meaningful information such as per-ceptions about application review processes and construction costs, amongst other things.

• Increased access to information

• Consult diverse stakeholders includ-ing developers, local service groups

• Input from Town Committees and de-partments

• Use of online technol-ogy to improve access to information and communication

Online toolsThe online blog that has been developed for this project is designed to be the central information resource by making the following available:

• up-to-date project information; • report videos; • background reports; • photographs; • presentations;• illustrations;• maps;• weekly posting of Project status; and, • meeting schedules.

ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS AND VIDEOS USED FOR THIS PROJECT INCREASES OPPORTUNITIES FOR

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

To date staff have made over 60 posts on the blog, many of which include illustrations and pictures to describe the subject matter. Four videos have also been posted on the blog which describe the project and document its progress.

Meetings, presentations and milestonesThe table on the following pages outlines the milestones associated with stakeholder engage-ment and information gathering for the project, including 14 presentations that have been made by staff to various groups.


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Date Milestone/Item Task Format

1 September 17th First development Committee

meeting

Project introduction Presentation

2 October 1st Blog development begins

3 October 17th GTDI - How Place Matters

Conference

Participant in Conference on Place Making

4 October 23rd Downtown r-o-w redevelopment

plan meeting

Participant in discussion regarding

Hurontario Street and downtown

streetscape redevelopment proposal

5 October 27th Downtown r-o-w redevelopment

presentation to Town Council

Participant at Town Council meeting

6 October 30th Development Excursion Participant in local tour of development

sites

7 October 31st First video report - “Why Blog.

How Collingwood is Covering

New Ground”

Initial video report Video report

8 November 7th Sustainability Committee meeting Project introduction Presentation

9 November 28th Lunch and learn presentation for

Planning Services

Project introduction, scope, and philosophy

discussion

Presentation

10 December 1st Town Council Project introduction and direction Presentation

11 December 2nd Blog goes live Blog is accessible to general public

12 December 4th Twitter site launch Launch of Twitter site to provide more

frequent online updates regarding Project

progress

13 December 12th Second video report - “What are

we doing? Video introduction to

the Project”

Summary video of the presentation made

to Town Council on December 1st

Video report

14 December 19th Active Transportation Committee

meeting

Participant in presentation regarding 2008

National Trail Symposium

15 January 8th Town Committees and Boards

participation invite

Sent out invitations to all Town Committees

for participation in the Project, including

offers to conduct presentations regarding

the Project’s concepts, philosophy and

details, etcetera.


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16 January 9th Staff survey Online survey circulated to staff involved in

development review to identify

opportunities for improvement based on

past applications/developments.

17 January 14th Arts and Culture Committee Project introduction and proposal of

Cultural Asset Mapping exercise

Presentation

18 January 23rd Ontario Cycle Tourism Forum Participant in regional cycling network

planning forum

19 January 26th Complete Community

presentation to Department

Heads

Growth Management Planning concepts

introduction

Presentation

20 January 30 Meeting with Arts and Culture

Committee representatives

Scope of Cultural Asset Mapping workshop Presentation

21 Feb 5th Engineering and Planning

representatives

Meeting regarding major issues associated

with Complete Community Planning/

Growth Management

22 Feb 6th Trails for Vibrant Communities

Workshop

Participated in workshop focused on trails

as transportation and recreational amenities

23 February 9th Stakeholder invitation letters Sent out approximately 130 letters to

stakeholders (including previous

development applicants, Planners,

Engineers, Architects, Landscape

Architects, Service Groups, etcetera)

24 February 10th Third video report: “Trails for

Vibrant Communities Workshop”

Video Summary of Trails for Vibrant

Community workshop on February 6th

Video report

25 February 11th Cultural Asset Mapping

Workshop

Workshop with select stakeholders and

representatives from Leisure Services,

Building Services, Economic Development,

Planning Services, and the Arts and Culture

Committee. Focused on Cultural Asset

Mapping and Public Art Policy issues.

Workshop

facilitation and

presnetation

26 Feb 13th Lunch and learn presentation for

Planning Services

Presented update on Cultural Asset

Mapping & Public Art Policy workshop

Presentation

27 February 17th Fourth video report: “Cultural

Asset Mapping Video Report”

Video summary of workshop held February

11th

Video report

28 Feb 26th Trail Committee Project Introduction Presentation

29 Feb 23rd Affordable Housing Task Force

members

Project Scope Discussion


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30 March 10th Sustainability meeting Sustainability assessment training

31 March 12th Newspaper interview for

stakeholder outreach

Interviewed for newspaper article

32 March 16th Complete Community

presentation to Town Council


introduction

Presentation

33 March 19th Active Transportation Committee Trail crossing analysis and design

recommendations from consultant

34 March 31st Complete Community

presentation to Economic

Sustainability & Development

Board


introduction

Presentation

35 April 8th Accessibility Advisory Committee Project introduction Presentation

36 April 17th Lunch and learn presentation for

Planning Services

Presented update on Analysis Presentation

37 May 20 Architectural Conservancy and

Heritage Advisory Committee

meeting

Project introduction Presentation

38 June 9 Affordable Housing Task Force Project introduction Presentation

Various Dates Various meetings Arts and Culture Committee representatives

regarding Cultural Asset Mapping

Various Dates Various meetings Planning, Building, Engineering, Economic

Development, and Leisure Services

Department representatives

Various Dates Various meetings Pre-consult and development review

meetings with Development Committee


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CommitteesTo provide an opportunity for direct input on the Project staff have met with a number of the Town’s committees. These meetings generally included lengthy presentations on the scope, goals, and overall framework of the Project; as well as, discussion with the committee members. The following list describes some of the key the issues highlighted during these meetings.

Development Committee:Given the nature of this Committee’s work, the issues that have been raised during discussions with its members have been more far reaching than any other committee. The Committee mem-bers have provided a variety of information re-lated to design issues that have arisen with past and current development applications. The ma-jority of their input has focused on site layout, building relationship to the street, pedestrian connectivity and on site pedestrian facilities.

WORKING WITH THE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE PROVIDES FIRSTHAND

INSIGHTS INTO LOCAL URBAN DESIGN CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The following identifies a number of the pedes-trian oriented concerns that have been presented by this Committee that are likely to be included in the Design Standards:

•safe pedestrian routes of travel from the public way/sidewalk to the main building entrance;•safe routes of travel through parking lots for pedestrians;•direct pedestrian connections to neighbouring sites;•incorporate landscaping into the design of park-ing lots;•architectural details and display windows along building facades facing streets; and,•sidewalks along all improved streets.

Sustainability Committee:The Sustainability Committee has been apprecia-tive of the fact that a systemic approach to urban design standards can significantly influence the sustainability of development. For example: how urban design standards can facilitate changes to development patterns that impact the the effec-tiveness of non-vehicular transportation methods.

Above: example of small scale wind turbine power generator. Opportunities to integrate these kinds of sustainability amenities into new developments will be explored with the Sustainability Committee and other stakeholders.

The following are a number of transportation as-sociated requirements that will be incorporated into the Standards:

•covered bike parking within close proximity and directly visible form building entrances;•covered transit stops within close proximity to building entrances and/or centrally located within larger developments;•pedestrian walkways that provide linkages be-tween specific elements on site, as well as neigh-bouring sites (such as entrances, transit stops, ad-jacent streets, and adjacent developments); and,•connections to trails that are adjacent to new developments.

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Other concepts that have been discussed, and will be further explored with this Committee are:

• the integration of green building standards in new developments (such as the LEED stan-dards)

• potentially requiring solar panels, small scale wind turbines or other methods for on site en-ergy production in large developments

• green roof techniques• white roof techniques• low impact development stormwater manage-

ment

Exploration of these options will also continue through the review of best management practices and model standards.

Above: example of a solar panel installation over a parking area. Site amenities such as these will be examined as poten-tial sustainability requirements in the design standards.

Active Transportation Committee:Similar to the above two Committees, this group has discussed ways of shifting the focus of site design toward pedestrian oriented facilities and buildings that are human scaled. The issues that were most unique to this group’s discussions and will be addressed with the new urban design standards were:

• standards for open spaces, public gathering places, outdoor plazas, and other similar places to ensure that they are active, safe, multi-purpose and usable for all age groups;

• multi-season design issues with public spaces to provide weather protection and sun access;

• active play & adventure play area design; and,• requiring specific amenities and/or perform-

ance measures for spaces public spaces.

Arts and Culture Committee:The work that was done with this Committee was in two areas, 1) identification and mapping of cul-tural assets and 2) discussion of standards associ-ated with public art.

The cultural asset mapping work resulted in a workshop with various public stakeholders, committee members and staff from Planning, Building, Leisure Services, and Economic Devel-opment. The workshop was facilitated by staff with the tasks of gathering information for the first draft of a Cultural Asset Map for Colling-wood; as well as, concepts about integrating pub-lic art into new developments through the urban design standard regulations.

ONLINE PUBLISHING OF THE CUL-TURAL ASSET MAPS MAKES THEM

ACCESSIBLE TO THE WIDEST POSSIBLE AUDIENCE

The first Cultural Asset Map (which was a result of the workshop) has been published online and is continuing to evolve. This map identifies many locations of places, buildings, and sites that have particular importance to the sense of place of Collingwood (for example Collingwood’s Japa-nese garden). The updating of this, and future associated maps is being undertaken as a partner-ship between Planning, Economic Development and the Arts and Culture Committee.

The information from the Cultural Asset Mapping exercise will be used to define the theme(s), or subject matter, of public art installations that the urban design standards may require for new de-velopments. The intent is to weave the cultural importance of these sites into the design consid-erations of new developments.


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For the discussions about public art regulations a number of principles were brought forward that will be integrated into the design standards:

• defining a hierarchy of art/community amenity requirements for new developments based upon their size

• defining parameters for public art installations within new developments, and public spaces

• requiring new developments to incorporate small scale artistic elements and details into building details and public spaces

Trail Committee:The Trail Committee discussion was focused on elevating the importance of trails within Colling-wood’s new developments from recreational amenities to being viable transportation options. Many of the issues raised will be of particular

Above: Sketch of various layers of cultural assets to be mapped and their relationships to the urban design standards project and the work of Economic Development and the Arts & Culture Committee

importance to the development of design stan-dards for residential subdivisions. Examples of specific direction resulting from this committee’s ideas include the following:

• design trails and connections to support the trail network as a viable transportation alterna-tive

• require new development to provide connec-tions to trail system

• design of trail intersections for safety and visual interest (perhaps including public art)

• wayfinding techniques integrated into site de-sign and trail connections.

As per the discussion with this Committee, the illustrations on the following page show different types of pedestrian connections that may be re-quired by the new urban design standards within residential subdivisions.

Above: The design standards will also define specific pa-rameters associated with requirements to provide public amenity spaces, including when they are required (such as on corner sites), what features must be incorporated in their construction (such as public art), and design considerations (such as providing sun access and relationship to building height). By using various analysis methods, staff are able to gather information for a range of design considerations that no single approach could provide.


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�Top: trail network within a residential neighbourhood. Middle left: trails through residential properties and adja-cent buffer areas Middle right: trails through park Lower left: trails integrated with stormwater facilities Lower right: trail connections to provide access through long blocks of development and dead ends

Accessibility Committee:As with other committee meetings during this stage of the project, much of the discussion was primarily about developing an understanding of the project scope and the role urban design standards play in new developments and the evolution of the community.

While there was concern about accessibility in residential design, which will be part of a future stage of the project, the Committee also expressed their desire to see the following addressed by the

new urban design standards:

• integrating accessibility throughout site designs;

• safety and design for accessibility at intersections and crossings, including those in large developments on internal circulation drive lanes;

• providing effective transit connectivity in new developments; and

• closer attention to site layout to ensure that accessibility issues are addressed (including internal walkways, conflicts with display areas, connections to neighbouring sites, and environmental cues for persons with visual impairments).

Above: Example of how increased turning radii on intersec-tions can significantly increase pedestrian crossing distances; impacting safety, especially for individuals with mobility issues or visual impairments


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Urban Design StandardsPart Two: Analysis Modules

Outline of progress on analysis modules

Site Critiques

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Source: Aerial Photogt

Delayering Facade Study Scenario Testing Cultural Asset Mapping

This second section of the report outlines the modules that make up the analysis portion of the project. The information gath-ered from these approaches provides insights into Collingwood’s physical environment, the challenges that need to be ad-dressed and examples of design solutions that could be replicated to support the community’s livability. Each of the analysis methods focuses on different aspects and at varying scales; allowing staff to gain awareness of many different characteristics and patterns.

The following provides descriptions of the methods, their role in the project, and draft examples of some potential standards that are based on the findings.

Site Critiques

Site Visits and Photo CritiquesMuch information can be gained by various methods used to ana-lyse urban form; how-ever, the insights that can be developed through site visits and personally experienc-ing the community is invaluable. Walking through a develop-ment, seeing the de-tails, learning how it functions, moving through its spaces, provides information that can not be gath-ered in any better

manner. Therefore, staff have done significant explorations throughout Collingwood to see first hand the urban design challenges and solutions of existing developments.

During these site visits staff made notes and took photos of applicable site characteristics that relate to this Project. Over 800 local photos were taken and added to the image library (consisting of ap-proximately 4,900 images). Selections of these were incorporated in the introductory presenta-tion made to Council in December, 2008, and have been used in other presentations and discussions with stakeholders, committees and online blog posts.

From the information gathered during the site visits and photo critiques, staff have identified many ways that the physical form of new devel-opment can be improved to support the liveabil-ity of Collingwood. The following are some ex-amples of the findings of the site critiques and description of design standards that will be based on these.

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• Site visits

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• Aerial photo review

ArchitectureMany contemporary buildings seem to sacrifice contextual relationships for individuality, and detailed refinements that add a sense of human scale and interest for viewers for large scale de-sign statements that stand out while offering little at the pedestrian level. Based on this analysis, the standards for building architecture will focus on such things as : window proportions, materials and entrances, facade articulation and decorative architectural elements on facades. This will allow the architectural freedom needed for buildings and sites to differentiate themselves while also ensuring some continuity and cohesion within streetscapes.

Above: Examples of the kinds of architectural details that staff have been examining for potential design standards

Two particular architectural design elements that are often used in contemporary architecture will be addressed by the design standards. The first is the use of oversized facade elements at building entrances, primarily for signage. The second is the use of out of scale parapets and cornices, and false gables to alter simple rooflines. These fea-


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tures amount to no more than billboards affixed to building facades, adding little to the architec-tural design, nor adding any human scaled or pedestrian oriented characteristic.

Above: Sketch of commonly used architectural features that are intended to create roofline variation, but are out of pro-portion and detract from the overall building design.

Below: Sketch of basic human scaled design changes added to a photograph of a typical retail building.

These kinds of details that adversely affect the composition of the building facades, are out of scale with the other elements of the building, and/or are obviously false will be more strictly controlled with the new standards.

The image at the bottom of the page shows six changes to the design of the building that reflect the kinds of things that will be required in the Standards. These changes have an overall signifi-cant impact on the human scale and pedestrian orientation of the building, while representing generally small amendments to the overall de-sign: 1) providing display windows and/or dis-play showcases under awnings to provide visual interest on the blank facades; 2) defining specific signage bands/areas so that the building facade does not appear to have billboards attached to it that are not human scaled and out of proportion with the rest of the building; 3) reduce the pedi-ment height to be more appropriate to the overall proportions of the building; 4) for visual interest, create real vertical relief with pilasters that project from the facade (not just painted details with no change in material or depth of facade); 5) provide a grade separated sidewalk that is wide enough to take into account vehicle overhang for pedestrian


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safety and overall walkability (also remove bol-lards from entrance); and, 6) improve overall aes-thetics, provide summer shade, and make the site more appealing to people by integrating more landscape features throughout the site, such as the raised planter shown.

ScreeningCurrent methods of screening on-site utilities, trash enclosures, and parking lots are generally ineffective. Different approaches to screening negative uses from neighbouring sites or the pub-lic realm are necessary.

The illustration below shows examples of the kinds of screening approaches that may be re-quired with the new Standards. For example, in areas directly adjacent to streets or public gather-ing places such as plazas, more formal screening options that include fencing and walls may be required, while areas adjacent to parks and open spaces would utilise screening made entirely of plantings.

Above: Sketches of screening options that will be required by the Urban Design Standards

Pedestrian ConnectionsStaff explored the pedestrian walkway connec-tions in the downtown to identify characteristics that could be incorporated in the new standards. One of the benefits of these connections in the downtown blocks is that they allow pedestrians

to move around more easily than if they were re-stricted to using only sidewalks. This is the kind of amenity that will be necessary in new devel-opments to make them more pedestrian friendly and implement the Town’s active transportation policies.

The downtown has a number of examples of both public and private walkways connections to en-sure that pedestrian movement is facilitated and not hindered. These walkways aer separated by as little as 42m and as much as 155m along Hurontario Street in the downtown.

Above: Sketch from site visit critiques of locations and dis-tances between pedestrian connections through blocks in the downtown

Above: Examples of different pedestrian walkways through development blocks. Left to right: walkway with courtyard, plaza and walkway combination, and galleria.


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One of the aspects of this system of walkways in the downtown blocks that is worth noting is that only one is specifically designed for pedestrians and provides access through the entire block. The location of this walkway is between Town Hall and the Annex Building. All the other walkways are either shared with vehicular traffic and/or do not provide access through the entire block (end-ing mid block or in a parking lot).

In the development of the new design standards staff will be exploring opportunities to require these kinds of pedestrian connections, which are especially important for large scale development blocks that can act as barriers to pedestrians.

Above: Example of the only mid-block connection specifi-cally designed for pedestrians that extends the entire width of the block in downtown Collingwood. The design standards will seek to replicate this kind of amenity.

Parking Lot LocationTo improve streetscapes, the new design stan-dards will require parking lots to be primarily located to the rear of sites and behind buildings which may make the kinds of pedestrian connec-tions mentioned above increasingly important.

The local example below shows how a develop-ment can accommodate such a pedestrian connec-tion to the parking area. The Standards will en-sure that this kind of development pattern is re-produced more regularly to create attractive streetscapes not dominated by parking lots, while also providing a network of pedestrian routes throughout sites for accessibility. How these

connections could be combined with courtyards, plazas and gallerias will be determined through the review of best practices.

Above: Example of a well designed and functional pedestrian connection between buildings (First Street, Collingwood)

Urban ForestStaff have reviewed the Tree Canopy Calculation recently completed by Envision. The purpose of this project was to provide an evaluation of the existing tree canopy cover in the town. This com-plex analysis provided the following results: Can-opy cover 7,804,697 sq. m. 17.6%; Successional areas 2,258,914 sq. m. 5.0%.

The canopy cover calculations, and images, will provide a benchmark for Standards that will re-quire minimum tree planting and canopy cover. Staff expect that this will have a significant im-pact, not only on aesthetics, but environmental characteristics for new developments. These spe-cific design standards will be drafted as part of a combined effort with staff, the Sustainability Committee, and Town Landscape Architect; and with information from the best practices review of Low Impact Development (LID) stormwater management techniques.


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Above: Image from tree canopy study. The design standards will seek to support a healthy urban forest with specific land-scape requirements for tree cover.

Heritage DistrictThe Heritage District is an obviously important asset to the community and significant considera-tion is being given to it in the Urban Design Stan-dards project. While design within the Heritage District is strictly regulated, the sites adjacent to the District have no such specific standards.

The community would be well served to ensure that the Heritage District continues to be inte-grated with its surrounding uses, by having adja-cent sites reflect a given level of design consistency/conformity to the characteristics of the District. This way the District boundary will not become a hard edge delineating a historic relic in the downtown, but a transition into a District that is woven into the fabric of new developments and surrounding streets.

Staff examined aerial photos of the district and conducted site visits throughout the area to de-termine an effective way of achieving this desired long term integration of the District. As with the entire Urban Design Standards project the focus for this exercise was on the public realm and pe-destrian oriented design, which in this case is primarily the street.

As a result of this analysis staff identified areas that will be defined as adjacent to the Heritage District with specific design standards to support the District as described above. The drawing be-

low shows a portion of this area. The rationale for including areas as adjacent included two steps:

1) Identifying all properties contiguous with the District boundary (pink line in drawing) as ad-jacent sites. These are outlined with the red dashed line; and,

2) To help define the streetscapes along these ar-eas the sites across the streets have also been included as being adjacent to the district (out-lined in blue dashed line).

These two steps will allow the sites and streetscapes in the areas surrounding the District to evolve in a way that supports the context of the District and connects it to the surrounding neigh-bourhoods. The design standards for these sites will be focused on creating complementary de-velopments, not mimicking the architectural styles of the District.

Above: Section of map showing proposed area defined as adjacent to the Heritage District. This area will have specific design standards to support the characteristics and sense of place defined by Collingwood’s Heritage District.

The standards that will apply to these areas de-fined as adjacent may include:

• defining general height and width limits that respect neighbouring sites

• defining setback limits that are appropriate to the street context

• require new buildings to maintain proportions of windows and entrance along the street

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• defining contextually appropriate roof pitches• materials to be fitting within the streetscape • requirements to extend the mid-block pedes-

trian walkways where practicable for new and infill developments.

Heritage Sites In addition to the Heritage District there are a number of individual sites with heritage designa-tion in the community. While these are not as strictly controlled as the district they are still a vital asset to the community. Just as adjacency was defined for the properties surrounding the District, these singular sites will also have specific adjacent properties identified that need to respect their specific design characteristics.

Above: Drawing showing the basic relationships of design characteristics that will be included in standards for areas adjacent to heritage designated sites: building outline or elevation; mass; setback; rhythm of openings; and materials.

This does not mean that adjacent development will have to copy the historic architectural styles, but specific characteristics such as facade materi-als will have to be complementary. The parame-ters of these standards is under development.

The image below shows the relationship of which sites will be considered adjacent to a heritage des-ignated property. Priorities to the rear are not included because, as with the rest of this project, the focus is primarily on improving the public realm, in this case an attractive streetscape.

Above: Drawing showing which sites will be considered adjacent to individual heritage designated sites outside of the District, in terms of the applicability of special design stan-dards.


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Delayering

Delayering CollingwoodThe process of delayer-ing involves carefully developing maps that simplify information and highlight specific relationships and characteristics within the urban fabric that are not evident with traditional mapping methods. The maps are based on Town GIS & CAD maps. This analysis exercise is focused on the entire town to identify major patterns and spatial relationships between blocks, buildings and streets that could be incorporated into new developments to sup-port the goals of this project. Walking dis-tance is used as a key measurement tool for this analysis.

Staff developed a set of 63 different maps for this analysis module. The information gathered through will be especially important for drafting standards that relate to large developments, and residential subdivisions.

Pedestrian Oriented PatternsPedestrian oriented design is more than just a mobility issue; and walkability involves more than just trails and sidewalks. Pedestrian ori-ented design really means designing for people, not just their mode of transportation, including creating a public realm that combines civic spaces, architecture, and landscaping, in such a way that people's needs are met in a physical environment

• Analysis of major street and block pat-terns in the commu-nity

• Identified a number of design opportuni-ties to help new de-velopment fit within physical form of the community

• Information from this analysis will be used to draft specific de-sign standards for specific street corri-dors, sites, and inter-sections

that is comfortable and pleasurable to be in. A truly walkable community must provide at least:

1) interesting and useful destinations;2) route options to those destinations as part of an easily understood and safe network; and,3) attractive design features including landscap-ing and architecture that pedestrians can enjoy.

Typical measures for determining if locations are within a walkable range are distances of 400 me-tres (1/4 mile) and 800 metres (1/2 mile). For the delayering process these walking radii were used for measurement.

The urban design standards will require new de-velopment to incorporate some of the characteris-tics of Collingwood’s physical form that have been identified to create projects that complement the existing context (in terms of development footprints, block sizes, connectivity to support walkability, linkages, etcetera).

The following are selections from the delayering analysis; as well as, examples of design standards that may result from the findings.

Above: The main body of the Heritage District is approxi-mately 400m wide and 800 m long; equal to the two primary distance measures for walkability 1/4 and 1/2 mile.


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Above: Building footprints along corridors within 400 m walking radius. The greater the number of buildings the greater the diversity of the streetscape and potential interest for pedestrians.

Street PatternsTraditional neighborhoods were designed with a grid like street layout. However, when “grid” street patterns respond to natural conditions such as topography, water ways, green spaces, and the street patterns of existing neighboring develop-ments the strict use of the grid often becomes im-practical.

The modified grid street layout uses the combina-tion of three-way T-intersections and four-way crossroad intersections to produce an irregular grid with a large amount of variety. The modified grid system is often used to respond to the natu-ral environment and existing development pat-terns. This is what appears to have happened in Collingwood. In the newer areas of development, primarily at the edges of the community, and within the large “super blocks” of big box stores, this has evolved into the use of curvilinear and dead end streets. This results in a disjointed and less connected street system.

A recent adaptation of the modified grid that is being used in other communities is the Fused Grid.

Above: Three sets of ‘regular’ block types in Collingwood

Above: Largest continuous pattern of ‘regular’ blocks in Collingwood, with 400 m walking radius superimposed.

The Fused Grid approach to street layout takes it name from the “fusion” of two types of de-signs—the conventional loop and cul-de-sac pat-tern of the modern suburb and the traditional grid system. The following are three primary the characteristics of the components of this type of “grid” variation:


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•Grid system – for clarity, connectivity, and con-venience•Loops and cul-de-sacs – for desired reduction in traffic flow in some areas and residential tranquility•Walkways and parks - to pro-vide continuous pedestrian walkways/parks when inte-grated at the end of cul-de-sac.

Based on the patterns of regular blocks, dead ends, and intersec-tions (which all affect connec-tivity) identified through the de-layering process, staff will be ex-ploring ways that the modified and fused grid patterns can be used to fulfill the goals of the Pro-ject. Specifically, staff will be ex-amining opportunities to com-bine characteristics of the the modified grid and the fused grid for the urban design standards. For example, requiring the pedes-trian trails and open space con-nections at dead ends (as with the fused grid), but limit the overall number of cul-de-sacs (as with the modified grid) so that street connectivity and vehicular traffic are not impacted.

Top: Modified grid patternMiddle: Fused grid pattern using parks

and trails in combination with many cul-de-sacs to provide pedestrian connec-tivity while limiting vehicular traffic

Right: Street width to building height radios: Top 1:1, Middle 1:1, Bottom 3:1

Street to Building RatioThe relationship between building height and street width is important to defining the public realm of the street. Ratios of street width to building heights from 1:1 to 3:1 are considered optimal, with a reduced sense of comfortable

enclosure for pedestrians as those ratios are skewed in either direction.

In combination with the delayering process and the site critiques, a number of unique corridors along arterial streets have been identified. For some of these corridors, the relationship of building height to street width results in a poorly defined space. By requiring specific landscaping, such as the double row of street trees as found along the front of the Home Depot site, and minimum building heights along these corridors these proportions can be changed to a more favourable relationship.

For some of the corridors with larger street widths, the density implications of trying to reach the optimal building height will be balanced in the regulations of the Standards, so that development is not required at such as significant size that it would stagnate the evolution of the corridors.

Requirements for similar proportions between buildings will also be explored for larger developments that contain public spaces and internal circulation routes. Combined with other new standards, requiring street furniture and other pedestrian amenities, the spaces between the buildings of these large developments will be well defined and comfortable.

Walkability Potential Some of the unique characteristics that became evident through the delayering process include the potential for walkability within Collingwood.


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The street and block patterns of developments significantly impact the walkability of the community, with the traditional grid providing the most efficient network.

The greater the number of dead ends, the less efficient the street network is for pedestrian mobility; additionally, the less intersections, the lower the number of route choices, which also reduces effectiveness. The following images show how these combine within a 400m walking radius in areas around Collingwood. Due to design choices made about street and block patterns some areas of Collingwood are more effected by the combination of more dead ends and less intersections.

Performance standards will be developed to ensure that in new developments, pedestrian movement is not inadvertently impacted by large numbers of dead ends and few route choices because of street patterns with few intersections.

Above: Dead ends in the street network

Above: Number of dead ends (red dots) and intersections (green crosses) within 400 walking radius.

Block SizeThe following image has the typical Collingwood block pattern superimposed on the mall/Canadian Tire site. This shows the scale of the development compared to the traditional walk-able block pattern.

There has been a trend toward longer blocks, and correspondingly fewer intersections within de-velopment areas. As blocks grow in size adjacent blocks become isolated from each other and peo-ple become more automobile dependent for their transportation.

The same kinds of regulations that will address pedestrian movements impacted by dead ends and intersection patterns will also be extended, in some from, to large scale developments. There-fore, the urban design standards will require de-velopment patterns that extend and reestablish Collingwood’s traditional block patterns with streets and building placement. This will provide more connectivity and development patterns that are more fitting with neighbouring areas.


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Above: Sketch showing how existing street network can be extended into large sites to provide: 1) improved connec-tivity; and, 2) order to the development pattern that is more contextually fitting with the surrounding areas

Above: Whiteboard sketch of regular block pattern superim-posed on a big box retail site

BridgeheadsThe delayering process also highlighted missed opportunities that will be addressed with the de-sign standards. For example, the map below shows the location of bridge crosses for the collec-tor and arterial streets in Collingwood which have been designed purely for utility with no or-nament or other design purpose evident.

The new standards will include bridgehead de-sign standards to ensure that future waterway crossings are developed in a more celebratory fashion. By requiring new bridge designs and/or adjacent bridgehead sites to incorporate public art or other design features that highlight the cross-ing, these areas will evolve as landmarks within the community.

Above: Arterial streets, collector streets, and river crossings marked

CrossroadsLooking at the series that shows three-way inter-sections and intersections of arterial and collector streets staff have identified numerous sites whose impact on the urban design and sense of place of Collingwood could be increased.

Corner sites play a particularly important role along a street. Their prominence at a crossroads can be accentuated through site design, architec-


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ture, public art placement and gathering places, etcetera, making them important features within the community.

Staff have identified the sites that define the cor-ners of the arterial and collector street crossings and will be developing standards that require the design and development of these sites to take into account their corner location and add to the pub-lic realm with the kinds of features described above.

Above: Location of all intersections between collector and arterial streets. These are all busy crossroads that should be appropriately addressed by site and building designs that capitalize on their unique locations as opportunities for creat-ing landmarks. The design standards will require new devel-opments to take this into account.

Street End ViewsThe significance of the three-way, or T-intersections, is that a person’s view is terminated by whatever is located at the top of the T. Similar to the prominence of corner sites described above, sites that terminate a street axes have potential as locations for landmarks and civic spaces. An ex-cellent local example is the importance of the view up Hurontario that historically ended at the side launch.

The design standards will address ways of ensur-ing that the design of these sites takes advantage of their unique prominence.

Above: Development sites at the end of a street have a unique position in that they terminate the street view. The design standards will require that this be recognized within the site layout and architectural design for these locations.

A related matter is the value of directed views out to the water along street axes. The Standards will explore ways of ensuring that these are main-tained or enhanced, and where practicable also provide physical access to the waterfront.


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Facade Study

Typological AnalysisThere are types of buildings that are de-fined by their charac-teristics and made up of specific compo-nents. These types also directly influence and create other types at larger scales. A charac-ter of a residential street is defined by the types of housing along the street as much as the street design itself. One just needs to look at a retail building within the Heritage District and contrast that with a big box store. They each have characteristics unique to them that define their type. Even when the uses change the building type does

not. This is why it is so important to have design standards that are not overly use specific. This is the same reason that heritage streets and neigh-borhoods can function so many years after devel-opment, and why it is very difficult to success-fully retrofit much of the development that has occurred in the past five decades in north amer-ica.

By being able to identify patterns and scale of storefronts, entrances, windows, cornices, details, etcetera, it will be easier to create standards that will guide new development that is fitting with our community’s context, without resorting to mimicry or replication to achieve continuity and appropriate ‘fit’.

• Using drawings of heritage building fa-cades

• Identifying elements and characteristics that can be incorpo-rated into new devel-opments

• Not seeking to copy architectural style

• Identifying design characteristics for de-velopments adjacent to heritage sites

Heritage Facade AnalysisThe Town has an excellent set of architectural façade drawings for Hurontario and neighbouring streets. These images where created as part of the 1981 Stokes Architectural Study.

These have been scanned to create digital copies which have been used as part of an architectural façade study. The purpose of this module of the Urban Design Standards Project is to identify building patterns, proportions, scale and dimensions that may be used as parameters within the new Urban Design Standards.

Examining the pedestrian oriented scale of buildings, storefronts, lighting, etcetera in the Heritage District can help determine the range of dimensions and interrelationships that have been shown to work in our community for many decades. They can also be used to develop Standards that will reflect and respect the context of our existing built environment. Creating Standards that are based on these dimensions can facilitate the development of buildings and sites that “fit” our community’s context without architectural mimicry or defining requirements about specific architectural styles.

The Stokes drawings are being examined to identify patterns, such as those seen with window and door openings; and architectural features that have historically been used to provide scale cues and visual interest such as those that signal storey changes. These patterns have been illustrated with a series of overlay images. By analysing these architectural features it provides an opportunity to learn from past successes and develop urban design standards accordingly.

The study of the patterns that make up the down-town building facades has provided some very interesting information for the Project. It is a way of establishing why things look and function the way they do. This is also helpful for determining what elements one would like to replicate in other areas, or with infill development, without resort-ing to mimicry or copying.


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It is important to note that some of the characteristics/patterns that have been identified through this analysis result from construction ma-terials and methods from the time when the buildings were constructed. However, they also

have significant value in defining aesthetically appealing and human scaled buildings and streetscapes that can be learned from, and repro-duced with contemporary developments.


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The image above is made up of 7 drawings illus-trating the patterns of the facade and is one of a series of 13 that was developed for this analysis module. These line drawings highlight the fol-lowing features of the facades:

• roof line;• horizontal articulation;• vertical articulation; • rhythm of windows; and • rhythm of entrances.

Some of the patterns and elements that have been observed through this analysis process that will likely be incorporated into the Standards include:

1) The way building entrances are defined by more than just doorways, but include associated windows and architec-tural details (such as the transom windows above the door, and sidelight windows). This is a sig-nificant characteristic that can help better de-fine building entrances and different storefronts and uses. This is espe-cially evident when compared to typical "strip mall" develop-ments where doorways are not "framed" in this way and easily blend into the surrounding facade elements.

Additionally, the way heritage entrances are re-cessed into the building and provide weather pro-tection, more visually interesting building fa-cades, and reduced conflicts with doors swinging open onto the sidewalk will also be incorporated into the design standards.

2) Defining both horizontal and vertical patterns with architectural details will also be required of new development (with elements such as cor-nices, columns and pilasters). Historically the horizontal articulation is used at every floor; while the vertical is primarily used between store-

front bays and along the edges of facades. This kind of detailing can be used on larger building facades to break up large blank walls that don't have entrances or windows. There are examples in both the downtown and elsewhere in the Collingwood where this has been done.

3) Similar to the first item, it is common in the heritage facades to "frame" the windows with ar-chitectural details or recess them. This is contrary to contemporary architecture, where facades often lack this kind of detail and windows and other openings blend into the facade; this provides less visual detail making the buildings less interesting. Staff will seek to include standards that require this kind of relief and detailing on new building facades, while not overly restricting architectural design and creativity.

Left: Sketch used to explore dimensions of architectural features on heritage facades.

4) Another item of note is the relative simplicity of the roof lines of the heritage buildings. One of the approaches that is often used in design guidelines and stan-dards to create visual interest and reduce the impact of large blank wal ls or large

warehouse/big box buildings is to articulate the roof line. When we look at the roof line of the blocks of heritage buildings we see that they have essentially flat roofs with little articulation (except for landmark buildings such as Town Hall).

The roof line is not what makes these blocks of buildings more or less interesting, and attempting to improve the visual quality of large big box buildings with artificial roof line variations typi-cally has little impact. One of the negative results of this kind of approach is that buildings often end up with exaggerated cornices or parapets that are out of proportion with the rest of the building (often functioning as signage backdrops that give


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the impression that a billboard has been affixed to the building).

Facade DetailsIn addition to the primary facade patterns that were identified, the heritage facades of the down-town have been examined to identify specific di-mensions and relationships of building elements. The intent is to define specific ratios and dimen-sions for elements that may be required in new developments, for example:

1) minimum display window size (ratio to fa-cade);2) cornice size;3) parapet height;4) entrance features;5) window height;6) pilaster size; and,7) minimum size of facade projections.


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Scenario Development

Aerial Photo Site CritiquesFor this analysis mod-ule various develop-ment sites will be cri-tiqued to identify suc-cessful design solu-tions, opportunities for future improvement, and difficulties that could be avoided with new design standards. Aerial photos will be used for this analysis.

From the photos, building/street rela-tionships, public spaces, landscaping, connectivity, street patterns, etcetera will

be examined. Overlay drawings will be created to illustrate how design problems could be ad-dressed. Given the scale of the aerial photo-graphs these drawings will focus on larger scale design solutions such as walkways, landscaping, and building placement.

Development FootprintsOne of the characteristics that significantly influ-ences the livability of a neighbourhood or district is the size of building footprints in the area. With larger development or building footprints there are typically less public pedestrian through con-nections and route options. This results in a sig-nificant impact on the walkability of the area, and in turn the overall livability. This does not mean that smaller building footprints will inherently create more public pedestrian through connec-tions; however the ability to incorporate these between buildings is significantly increased with blocks of smaller buildings.

Additionally, because larger building footprints result in less buildings along the street, there

• A form of test for standards and con-cepts as they are de-veloped.

• An ongoing compo-nent throughout the entire Project.

tends to be less architectural diversity in these areas as well, making them less visually interest-ing. This was verified with the site visits and de-layering analysis modules.

The image below shows building footprints of two of the larger "big box" buildings found else-where in Collingwood, sketched over a number of down town blocks. This illustrates the difference in scale of these development patterns.

Above: Big box building footprints sketched on downtown blocks along Hurontario street.

Part the of the urban form analysis for this Project involves looking at these various relationships so that parameters can be described in the standards that will guide new development that is both visually appealing and supportive of our com-munity's objectives for improved walkability. This may result in limits to the size of development/building block footprints, and/or requirements to provide public walkways at given intervals with specific pedestrian amenities included, such as benches and wayfinding signage.

For the areas along the arterial corridors staff will be exploring ways of providing rear alleys or other site layout options so that the number of access points to the arterial are reduced while the connectivity between sites is improved.


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Parking AreasThis analysis module also allowed staff to more effectively visualize the impact of excessive areas being dedicated to parking lots and auto-oriented infrastructure. The following images show the amount of extra parking that has been provided in some local sites. The impact of this includes reduced aesthetic quality, reduced pedestrian ac-cessibility, and increased requirements for storm-water management.

Above: Image highlighting the amount of parking and areas dedicated to vehicular use on sites along First Street. This kind of information will be used to develop urban design standards that meet the goals of the Pro-ject and improve the function and aesthetics of devel-opment along arterial corridors in Collingwood.

Staff will be generating standards that limit the amount of parking that can be provided, and the overall design and landscaping of the parking lots. Additional requirements will be created specifically for the design of larger parking lots as well.

The design standards for larger parking areas will be focused on many items, including: • providing safe pedestrian access;• landscaping to reduce negative environmental

and aesthetic impacts;• screening from the public realm and

neighbouring sites;• specifically designated areas for uses such as

seasonal sales;• storage areas; and,

• other characteristics associated with safety and visual improvements.

Above: Image highlighting the amount of parking on three local sites that is in excess of the amount required by the Town.

The two images below show how part of this analysis module is the development of photo simulations to test design concepts for the standards that are being drafted. These examples show how a parking area can be significantly transformed with landscaping and pedestrian amenities.

Above: Example of a typical large scale parking area in another community, with limited amenities for safe pedestrian movement or landscaping

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Above: Simulation of parking area with improved safe pedes-trian routes, dedicated display area next to building, reduced lane width, increased landscaping and perimeter screening.

3D ScenariosTo help visualise proposed urban design solutions that would be required by the Standards, a series of 3D scenario sketch models will also be drawn. These models will allow for an analysis of:

• building placement;• building massing;• landscaping; • pedestrian trails and walkways;• crossings;• transit facilities;• shadows; and, • parking lot layout.

Above: 3D sketch of a walkway showing the relationship of various components such as fences and landscaping.

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3D Scenarios

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These drawings will also be effective in communicating the effects of the proposed standards to the various stakeholders.

Staff will being this process shortly, as the work with the other analysis modules is being concluded and the Project is shifting toward the drafting of the Standards. This process is expected to be necessary throughout the length of the Project.


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Cultural Asset Mapping

Cultural Asset MappingThe purpose of this module is to identify, and map cultural as-sets within Colling-wood. The maps are being developed through a partnership with the Town’s Art and Culture Commit-tee, and began with a workshop facilitated by staff and included participation from a variety of stakehold-ers, including Town Departments (Plan-ning, Leisure Services, Building, Economic Development).

This part of the urban design standards pro-ject is unique in that it is expected to continue as a resource for the community main-tained by the Arts and Culture Committee.

For the Standards pro-ject the Cultural Asset Mapping exercise will be primarily focused on mapping physical assets such as struc-

tures, buildings, artefacts, and places. An initial draft of this information has been mapped and published online as a publicly available Google map. As it evolves, the map will include photos, descriptions, videos, and additional web links as applicable for each of the identified elements.

• Maps of sites, fea-tures, and buildings of significant cultural importance to the community

• Design Standards will require the design of new developments to reflect cultural assets

• Maps will be main-tained by Arts and Culture Committee as an ongoing resource to the community

• Maps are published online to provide maximum public ac-cess

• Information can be used for a variety of purposes in addition to the urban design standards project

Below: Sketch from process to design the online cultural asset maps, showing the general way information is pre-sented.

This information will be used to develop regulations that re-quire sites to connect to and/or integrate these physical cultural assets into their de-sign. This may include such things as defin-ing themes for public art, landmarks, public gathering places or architectural details on these physical cultural assets. For example, a former use on a site, such as a church, would have to be reflected in any public art that was part of a redevelopment project. Alternatively, sites may be required to provide connections to neighbour-ing locations that contain identified cultural as-sets. This way these cultural assets of the com-munity will be woven into new developments, adding to Collingwood’s sense of place. Refined parameters for this kind of design programming will be defined in the urban design standards.

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Urban Design StandardsPart Three: Next Steps

Description of the next three major activities for the Project

Best Practices

• Adapting examples of best practices for use in Collingwood’s Ur-ban Design Standards

Drafting of Standards

• Drafting of new regu-lations based on find-ings of analyses methods

Residential Analysis

• Analysis of urban design characteristics associated with resi-dential development

This last section of the report outlines the next immediate steps of the Project.

As described with the analysis modules in Part Two, these next steps are not necessarily mutually exclusive processes and build upon each other. Of particular note is the review of best practices, as this will likely continue for the duration of the Project.

Best Practices

ReviewBy far the most time consum-ing analysis module for the Urban Design Standards Pro-ject is the research associated with determining Best Prac-tices. For this part of the Project a significant number of docu-ments, web sites, and devel-opment applications are being reviewed.

The purpose of this review is to identify best practices that would help address the goals of the Project and design issues/challenges the town is facing. Once the various exam-ples have been identified, they will be reworked and edited to fit the local context as most practicable. This analysis is expected to continue for the length of the Project.

Currently over 200 printed documents focused on all as-pects of urban design in the project are being reviewed as part of this exercise. By com-bining this information with local experiences, review of recent development applica-tions, and the findings of the other analysis modules the language and approaches of the new design standards will be drafted.

Drafting of

StandardsAs the various analyses proc-esses outline in Part Two are complete, staff will begin this stage of the Project.

The drafting of the actual stan-dards will continue to involve scenario testing and input from various Committees and stake-holders to ensure that the pro-posed design regulations are meeting the intent of the Pro-ject’s goals.

This stage of the project also involves creating all support-ing illustrations, drawings, and photographs used to describe the standards. Additionally, the descriptive language neces-sary to explain the standards, how they apply, and definitions of key terms will be drafted.

Initially, the urban design stan-dards for commercial and in-dustrial uses will be drafted, with standards for residential developments to follow.

Residential

AnalysisThe Project has focused primar-ily on commercial and indus-trial development. This does not mean that the analysis methods, context discussion, and urban design research is not applicable to residential development. However, char-acteristics specific to residential development have not been examined yet.

As the other analyses modules described in Part Two are con-cluded, staff will begin to use methods that examine the con-text of residential development ion Collingwood. This will help to gain understanding of such important patterns and elements as the relationship between public and private spaces, residential streetscape characteristics, multi-family residential sites, screening of the impacts of to adjacent uses, pedestrian connectivity, etcet-era.

As with the stages, drafting the design regulations for residen-tial development will utilise the same techniques for stake-holder engagement and testing of potential design standards.


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Documents

Urban Design Standards- Project Status Update 05-09