High quality urban design within the Town Centre will be critical for achieving an urban environment with a compact built form, a wide range of different uses, a convergence of high order transit routes, and a strong civic identity for South Nepean. The framework for urban design within this CDP consists of both urban design policies and urban design guidelines. Appendix C graphically illustrates the potential ultimate build out of the Town Centre based on the urban design policies and guidelines in this Section. Appendix D illustrates this potential for the different phases of the Strandherd Retail District’s evolution.
5.1 Urban Design Policies
The following urban design policies apply to all development within the Town Centre, except where certain design policies would contradict Section 4.2(7) and 4.3(5) regarding the Strandherd Retail District. They express the general objectives covering broader issues that must be met by all development. The policies are general in nature to permit flexibility during the design process while ensuring a minimum urban design standard is met.
Policies
- Buildings must maximize the coverage of lots.
- Buildings must be at least two fully functioning storeys in height, with different areas having greater minimum building heights as per Section 4.0.
- Buildings must be functionally and visually oriented to the public street and sited to be parallel to the public street and generally aligned with neighbouring buildings.
- Principal building entrances must be oriented to the public street and not to rear parking areas or lanes.
- Building design must address issues of adequate sunlight, sky views, and wind conditions.
- Buildings must be developed with a substantial portion of any visible front façade from a public street within 5.0 metres of the respective property line.
- Building frontage must be maximized along all public streets.
- At-grade uses must be flush with grade and provide an active use at grade in order to promote pedestrian activity.
- Spaces between the building wall and the street must provide an appropriate transition from the private realm to the public realm.
- Buildings must have dynamic façades with limited areas of blank, featureless walls.
- All parking, including surface, below-grade, and above-grade, must not detract from the aesthetic appearance of any public streetscape.
- Buildings and structures located at key locations must be designed and massed to emphasize their locations.
5.2 Urban Design Guidelines
The urban design guidelines provide specific design guidance on particular issues and elements within the Town Centre. The design guidelines are not considered a “design checklist”, but instead are to be applied on a case-by-case basis. While not considered policy, the City will use these guidelines during the review of development applications.
5.2.1 Built Form
Guideline 1: Orient principal entries to the primary street, so that they are connected to the sidewalk and are clearly identifiable through architectural features or signage.

Calgary

Ottawa
Guideline 2: Orient buildings to face all parks, plazas and natural areas so as to “frame” these spaces and to allow visual access into these spaces for safety and security.

Atlanta

Montreal
Guideline 3: Locate the buildings on corner sites close to both public streets and ensure that the level of architectural detailing on both flanking sides is consistent and includes windows and primary doors. Widen boulevards at corners to provide enhanced sidewalks conditions that include decorative planting areas, seating areas and other amenities. Wherever possible, locate the primary entrance at the corner of the two streets.

Calgary

Oakville
Guideline 4: Step the upper storeys of taller buildings back from the front lot line to minimize the impacts of taller buildings on the streetscape, such as shadowing and wind acceleration. For instance, step the building 2.0 metres above the 4th storey and another 2.0 metres above the 8th storey.

Toronto

Vancouver
Guideline 5: Provide a smooth transition in height and massing between adjacent developments to minimize the impacts of taller buildings, such as shadowing and wind acceleration.

Mississauga

Ottawa
Guideline 6: Locate and size all awning, wall or projecting signs on buildings so that they emphasize special façade features, store entrances or display windows and do not dominate the façade or obscure architectural elements.

Ottawa

Calgary
Guideline 7: Establish pedestrian scale lighting on buildings that highlights architectural features, provides a sense of safety by illuminating sidewalks and pedestrian activity areas, and does not result in excessive light and glare.

Toronto

Ottawa
Guideline 8: Provide awnings for protection from the weather at the pedestrian level on all non-residential uses. Extend awnings only the width of an individual storefront or an individual unit within a multi-unit building so as to avoid a single, continuous awning.

Ottawa

Kingston
Guideline 9: Align architectural features on a building, such as building kickplates, display windows, upper storey windows, parapets and cornice lines, roof lines, and sign bands, in order to create visual continuity.

Ottawa

Calgary
Guideline 10: Set back all non-residential buildings, including commercial and institutional buildings, between 0 and 3.0 metres from any front or side yard property line in order to create a more intimate street environment.

Ottawa

Ottawa
Guideline 11: Increase the setback up to 5.0 metres for non-residential buildings if the additional space that is generated creates space that is conducive to pedestrian-oriented activities such as vending, resting, sitting, or dining.

Toronto

Halifax
Guideline 12: Design non-residential or mixed-use buildings so that any façades that are publicly visible are articulated through windows, projections and recesses, and are not simply blank or single-material walls. Design the ground floor façade so that the building materials and architectural features are oriented to the pedestrian realm.

Ottawa

Atlanta
Guideline 13: Design buildings with commercial uses at grade with transparent windows and doors that occupy at least 80% of the linear building frontage for the ground floor and at least 50% for all upper storeys. Ensure windows are at least 2.5 metres in height, are located within 1.0 metre of the ground, and views into the store interior are not blocked.

Toronto

Ottawa
Guideline 14: Vary the unit façades of multiple-unit ground oriented dwelling blocks so that facades on the same block differ in terms of architectural details, roof silhouettes and shapes, colour and materials, and lot widths.

Calgary

Montreal
Guideline 15: Set back all residential buildings between 3.0 and 5.0 metres from any front or side yard property line in order to create a more intimate street environment, while ensuring privacy, adequate front yard landscaping, uninterrupted site lines, adequate sunlight as well as space for utilities, snow storage and street furniture.

Oakville

Calgary
Guideline 16: Design end unit garages that flank public streets to be complementary to the principal dwelling in terms of materials, windows and architectural elements.

Oakville

Calgary
Guideline 17: Design ground floor units in taller multi-residential buildings with entries that access the street, read as front doors, and are visible from the street. Wherever possible, design ground floor units so that they can be converted to non-residential uses at a later date, with floor-to-ceiling heights between 3.3 and 4.0 metres.

Ottawa

Montreal
5.2.2 Streetscape
Guideline 18: Design all streetscape amenities, including pedestrian lighting, newspaper boxes, benches, and waste receptacles, for a particular street or block with a consistent style to enhance the pedestrian environment. Concentrate these amenities in key locations outside of the pedestrian travel route so that they do not clutter the sidewalk and do not obstruct pedestrian traffic.

Halifax

Chicago
Guideline 19: Locate bicycle parking at commercial and institutional sites in highly visible locations that are connected to the pedestrian system, that are near building entrances, and that do not conflict with pedestrian routes.

Montreal

Ottawa
Guideline 20: Build sidewalks that are at least 2.0 metres wide on all streets and provide direct pedestrian access from the public sidewalks to all building entries. In heavy pedestrian traffic areas, such along a transit street, build sidewalks that are at least 3.0 metres wide.

Vancouver

Ottawa
Guideline 21: Design crosswalks with appropriate surface markings or variation in construction material and clear signage, especially within commercial areas with high levels of pedestrian activity, to clearly delineate pedestrian routes.

Rochester Hills

Ottawa
Guideline 22: Design transit stops with hard-surfaced loading areas, outside of the sidewalk, which are at least 2.0 metres wide to permit safe exit by all passengers and that are long enough to accommodate all doors of the longest vehicles using the route. Design all transit shelters with transparent sides for maximum visibility to and from the interior.

Calgary

Portland
Guideline 23: Landscape the space between buildings and the sidewalk with foundation planting, street trees, street furniture, and hard landscape connections to public sidewalks.

Bethesda

Ottawa
Guideline 24: Plant deciduous street trees 6.0 to 10.0 metres on centre to line all sites, including the frontage of parks, so that the selected species grows to form a consistent, enclosed canopy. Street trees will have to be coordinated with the location of utilities and infrastructure that share the right-of-way.

Ottawa

Calgary
Guideline 25: Locate street trees in commercial areas within a paved boulevard and planted in an adequate pit under a metal grate and possibly with metal sleeves. In residential areas plant trees within a grassed and landscaped boulevard. For lane-based building forms, plant one tree for each townhouse unit, one tree for every two stacked townhouse units, and one tree for every two apartment units on a site.

Ottawa

Markham
5.2.3 Parking and Loading
Guideline 26: Coordinate the location of service areas for delivery, loading and garbage pick-up at the side or rear of buildings to reduce vehicular interruptions along the public street and to improve the aesthetic appeal of the streetscape. Ensure that any required passenger drop-off areas are appropriately landscaped.

Ottawa

Ottawa
Guideline 27: Design all utility equipment so that it does not detract from the public streetscape, either by incorporating it into the design of a building, containing it in streetscape features such as gateways or lampposts, locating it so that it is not visible from the public street, or screening it with landscaping. Wherever possible, cluster or group utilities to minimize visual impact.

Oakville

Montreal
Guideline 28: Locate required surface parking at the side or rear of all buildings and away from the intersection for corner sites. Limit access driveways to one location per frontage in order to minimize pedestrian and vehicular conflicts on the sidewalk and maximize the space for landscaping and on-street parking.

Ottawa

Ottawa
Guideline 29: Provide a landscaped area between 3.0 and 6.0 metres wide along the edge of any surface parking area that is adjacent to a public right-of-way.

Ottawa

Ottawa
Guideline 30: Design all garage entrances on public streets so that they do not dominate the streetscape, through landscaping and architectural treatments such as overhanging balconies or recessed entrances.

Ottawa

Ottawa
Guideline 31: Design aboveground parking structures with at-grade commercial or residential uses that wrap the entire length of the street-facing façade.

Ottawa

Ottawa
Guideline 32: Ensure that aboveground parking contained within the lower floors of any building is incorporated into the design and architecture of the building to ensure it is visually unobtrusive.

Ottawa

Ottawa
5.2.4 Open Space and Connections
Guideline 33: Incorporate existing natural features, such as mature trees, into the development through variation of building setbacks.

Ottawa

Calgary
Guideline 34: Divide longer development blocks with a walkway block that is at least 3.0 metres wide in order to facilitate pedestrian and bicycle movement through the community.

Calgary

Toronto
Guideline 35: Locate active uses that create pedestrian traffic such as retail uses, cafes and restaurants and higher-density residential at the perimeter of plazas and walkways. Ensure windows face these areas to provide interest and improve security along these routes.

Ottawa

Toronto
Guideline 36: Incorporate hard and soft landscape elements and features in parks and plazas so that they define and articulate activity areas, circulation, entry points, seating and gathering areas.

Ottawa

Calgary
Guideline 37: Design stormwater management facilities to accommodate opportunities for public access, interpretation, and education and also to protect and enhance natural features and functions. Ensure that ponds are not entirely fenced and that any required fencing is decorative in nature.

Montreal

Ottawa
Guideline 38: Provide outdoor amenity space for apartments and mixed-use buildings in a location adjacent to any indoor recreation space, in view of residential units, and well connected to the public streetscape. Alternatively, outdoor amenity space can be provide through rooftop terraces which are planted, screened and sheltered from the wind.

Ottawa

Toronto
Guideline 39: Design all trails and pathways to be barrier-free, with clear signage, special pavement treatment at points where they cross streets, and with adequate amenities, such as seating, trash receptacles, lighting, and educational information.

Oakville

Ottawa
Guideline 40: Use open and transparent patio railings to define the boundary between public and private areas.

Toronto

Ottawa