Urban Design Manual refresh

The City of Waterloo is excited to announce the Urban Design Manual refresh!

The Urban Design Manual (UDM) is the City of Waterloo's primary consolidated set of design standards, design related criteria, and reference material to help guide the implementation of the City’s urban design and built form policies. Adopted by Council in 2009, the UDM continues to play a critical role in the development review process, as well as for public realm improvement initiatives throughout the city. After more than 10 years since its adoption, the UDM is due for a refresh!

Preliminary objectives include:

• Align with the City of Waterloo 2019-2022 Strategic Plan;
• Incorporate relevant urban design documents adopted since 2009, including but not limited to: Uptown Public Realm Strategy, Station Area Plans, and the City of Waterloo Accessibility Standards;
• Incorporate new practices and innovation;
• Simplify and eliminate redundancy; and,
• Improve ease of access and usability through digital platforms

We encourage everyone to be involved as we move forward!

We look forward to your participation in this important planning process, and invite you to familiarize yourself with the existing Urban Design Manual and other documents in preparation. As we move into Phase 2 of this project, we are planning for various consultation and engagement opportunities with industry practitioners, municipal staff, agencies, stakeholders, and the public.

If you wish to be notified of future UDM Refresh notices and public documents, please subscribe to follow our project. You can also email the project team at udmrefresh@waterloo.ca.