Welcome

As the city grows, Burlington will continue to receive applications for all sizes of developments, including mid-rise buildings. As such, it is important to ensure that new mid-rise developments are well-designed to enhance and fitwithin their context, while balancing the need to provide a wide range of housing and employment. This is why Burlington is creating design guidelines for different building types.

Guidelines will inform the urban design aspects of mid-rise buildings and implement the City’s Grow Bold Official Plan objectives and policies related to design excellence and the creation of a high quality-built environment that supports complete, compact, and sustainable communities.

Please view the short video & read these panels to learn about the mid-rise building guidelines. Let’s discuss… have your say!

Urban DesignBurlington’s new Official Plan was adopted by Burlington City Council in April.

The new Plan establishes a Growth Framework, which outlines where the city is planning to accommodate significant population and employment growth and where intensification is generally discouraged. Areas of anticipated growth include the city’s Urban Centres, Mixed Use Nodes and Intensification Corridors.

MAP – BURLINGTON’S URBAN AREA (OFFICIAL PLAN SCHEDULE C, APRIL 2018)

Mid-rise buildings will have an important role to play in how our city grows and are encouraged in many of these areas.

Design Guidelines

Design guidelines are an urban design tool that will assist in creating compatibility between land uses and ensure that appropriate transitions occur between areas of varying character and building heights.

What is Compatibility?

Characteristics of buildings, including differing scale, height, materials and landscaping, which may not necessarily be the same as, but can co-exist in harmony with the existing area.

What Are Design Guidelines?

Design Guidelines are a combination of design statements, graphics and images that explain an urban design concept aimed at shaping built form and guiding land development to achieve a desired level of design quality for the elements of the physical environment.

Please note that the height and location of mid-rise buildings are determined by the city's

new Official Plan and the Zoning Bylaw.

...THIS IS NOT ZONING…

This work will create a set of design statements to implement the vision and urban design

concepts developed by the new Official Plan

Burlington Official Plan

Zoning, Urban Design Guidelines

etc.

City-Wide Implementation

The Planning Process

Mid-Rise Buildings

What is a mid-rise building?

A mid-rise building is: a building between five and 11 storeys in height.

Mid-rise buildings may contain a single use, like an office or residential apartment, but usually contain a mix of uses, which may include things like retail, office, community services, and residential all in the same building.

MAPPING MID-RISEThis maps shows the location of all existing mid-rise buildings within the Burlington’s urban area

100buildings in Burlington that meet this definition

4-storeys or less 12-storeys or higher

Low-Rise Tall BuildingMid-Rise

Five to 11-storeys

Key Design ConceptsMid-rise buildings have many features as part of their design. Here are a few of the key design criteria:

Angular PlanesProvide build-to envelopes to shape buildings and to ensure adequate access to sun and sky views.

SetbacksRefers to the distance between a property line and the front, side or rear of a building.

StepbacksRefers to an offset of one element of a building from another element below. Stepbacks help to create a transition between built elements.

Separation DistanceThe space between two entities, such as elements of a building.

StreetwallThe condition of enclosure along a street created by the fronts of buildings and enhanced by the continuity and height of the enclosing buildings.

Angular Planes

What is it?

Provide build-to envelopes to shape buildings and to ensure adequate access to sun and sky views.

How is it applied?

At the street:

Where a building fronts on a street a 45° angular plane is applied from a height equivalent to 80% of the street right-of-way width. The upper storeys of a mid-rise building must fit within the angular plane.

Next to a neighbourhood:

Where a mid-rise building is next to a neighbourhood a 45° angular plane is applied from the shared property line. Mid-rise buildings must fit within the angular plane.

Design objectives:

• Protects access to sky view and sunlight.

• Addresses overlook and shadow impacts.

30m R.O.W.

3rd storey

9th storey

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30m R.O.W.

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9th storey

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45°

45°

street width

street width

Example of transitioning between a mid-rise building and lower-scale neighbourhood

80% of R.O.W.

Setbacks

What is it?

Refers to the distance between a property line and the front, side or rear of a building.

How is it applied?

Measured from each property line to the building.

Design objectives:

• Provides space for spill out uses such as cafes, wider sidewalks, landscaping, street trees, and street furniture.

• Helps create a continuous streetwall (see Panel 10).

• Provide separation and transition from adjacent neighbourhoods.

3rd storey

9th storeyPr

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setback setback

Example of rear yard setback.

Stepbacks

What is it?

Refers to an offset of one element of a building from another element below.

How is it applied?

Measured from the edge of the base building inward.

Design objectives:

• Help to create a transition between built elements.

• Contribute to access to sky view and sunlight.

• Step backs from a street help to define its street edge .

• Mitigate the perception of height.

3rd storey

9th storey

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stepback stepback

Step-back Step-back

Example with a step-back of the upper storeys

Separation distance

What is it?

The space between two entities, such as elements of a building

How is it applied?

Measured from one building element to another.

Design objective:

• Helps with privacy and overlook• Allows for pedestrian or vehicular

connections between buildings.• Maintains access to sky views

and sunlight for pedestrians.

Base Separation

Upper Storey Separation

Mid-block Connection

Streetwall

What is it?

The condition of enclosure along a street created by the fronts of buildings and enhanced by the continuity and height of the enclosing buildings.

How is it applied?

Designed to match existing streetwall heights where they exist, or where they don’t exist they relate to the street right-of-way width. Typically, they will range in height from 3- to 6-storeys.

Design objectives:

• Helps buildings fit within existing or planned context.

• Defines the street edge.• Allows access to sky views and

sunlight for pedestrians.This building sets a new 6-storey streetwall height along Plains Rd. W.

Determining height

...NOT ALL SITES MAY BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE MAXIMUM BUILDING HEIGHT…

Some sites may have specific constraints limiting height including compatibility with surrounding areas, environmental impacts, transportation capacity, design requirements, etc.

The height is no tallerthan the width of the street

30 m max height

MAP OF THE STREET RIGHT-OF-WAY (R.O.W.) WIDTHS

Note: Exceptions may apply in mixed-use intensification areas, including mobility hubs, and character areas where there may be a need for additional context sensitive design and massing guidelines.

Connect with us

HAVE YOUR SAY!

Take the online survey at:getinvolvedburlington.ca

Fill-out a comment sheet or email your feedback to:todd.evershed@burlington.ca by Friday, September 14, 2018.

Learn more at:burlington.ca/urbandesign

NEXT STEPS2nd Public Open House – August 30th, 2018Draft Mid-Rise Building Guidelines – Summer/Fall 2018Delivery of Guidelines to Council – Fall 2018

Thank you!