The Zoning By-Law Reform team was created to put together a new Zoning By-Law for the City of Hamilton. The new Zoning By-law will take the Former Zoning By-laws of Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Glanbrook, Hamilton and Stoney Creek and build one Zoning By-law that is current, easy to use and more flexible.
The Zoning By-law is a rule book that places each property into a land use zone, letting land owners know what they can do with their property.
Why is Zoning Important?
- The Zoning By-Law takes direction from the Official Plan. These directions are made into rules in the Zoning By-Law.
- Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Glanbrook, Hamilton and Stoney Creek all have different rules and standards. The new Zoning By-Law will have the same rules for the way land is used throughout the City.
- All properties within the City of Hamilton are zoned. Zoning controls the size, height, location of buildings, and permitted uses.
- Zoning By-Law maps show zone boundaries to help property owners find the land use zoning of their lands and the lands in the neighbourhood.
Landuse Zones
The land use zones in a Zoning By-Law implement the policies of the Official Plan. The City of Hamilton is currently creating a new Official Plan and once the new Official Plan policies are in place, zoning rules can be set.
Zoning By-Law Timeline
The new Zoning By-Law will be completed in different steps. During the creation of the new Zoning By-Law, the public will be asked to provide input. The first step is the New Downtown Zoning By-Law. This part is based on the Downtown Secondary Plan "Putting People First". The rest of the Zoning By-Law will be developed on a subject basis, such as Industrial, Commercial, Residential, etc.
The second step is adding Parks and Open Space zoning to the Downtown Zoning By-Law. The zoning for Parks and Open Space is based on the Parks and Open Space Discussion Paper prepared by the Policy Planning section.
As the Zoning By-law moves forward, each project/subject will be listed below under "Current Projects", where timing for that project will be outlined.
Zoning By-Law 05-200
The first phase of the new Hamilton Zoning By-Law has been completed and is now in effect. On May 25, 2005, City Council passed Zoning By-Law 05-200 which sets up the makeup of the new Hamilton Zoning By-Law as well as created zones for the Downtown Core of Hamilton. These zones only apply to the Downtown Core and new zones will be created and included into By-Law 05-200.
Current Projects