Guidelines for Development
in the
St. Lawrence Neighbourhood

Our Neighbourhood

• St. Lawrence is a mixed-income, ethnically diverse residential and commercial neighbourhood adjoining the Central Business District. It extends from Queen Street East south to the railway tracks and from Yonge Street east to Parliament Street.
  
  
• St. Lawrence includes the ten original blocks of the Town of York. The many low-rise yellow and red brick buildings in this 19th century core lend the neighbourhood a distinctive historic character.
  
  
• The part of St. Lawrence clustered around The Esplanade and constructed in the late 20th century contains a family-friendly, mixed income residential neighbourhood that combines low-rent and subsidized rental accommodation with co-ops, condominiums and individually owned homes.

Our Requirements for Future Development

• Development in the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood is guided by:

• The Official Plan
  
  
• By-laws applicable to the area and the site
  
  
• The King-Parliament Secondary Plan
  
  
• The King-Parliament Urban Design Guidelines
  
  
• The St. Lawrence Urban Design Guidelines
  
  
• The King-Parliament Community Improvement Plan
  
  
• The King-Parliament Community Improvement Plan Update
  
  
• The St. Lawrence Community Improvement Plan
  
  
• Regeneration in the Kings: Directions and emerging trends
  
  
• The Heritage Lighting Master Plan for Old Town Toronto

Our Expectations

To preserve the best features of our neighbourhood and to ensure that new developments make a positive contribution to it, we:

• expect every new development to take full account of its context, to conform to the City’s regulations and guidelines regarding setbacks, step-backs, angular planes, density, and height and to incorporate design features that enhance the streetscape.
  
  
• encourage the improvement of the streetscape and the implementation of the proposals in the two neighbourhood Community Improvement Plans.
  
  
• encourage the pursuit of Toronto Green Standard Tier 2 or LEED Gold to address elements of sustainability in design and construction.
  
  
• welcome the provision of at-grade retail and above-grade commercial spaces of varying sizes to generate employment in and provide services to the neighbourhood.
  
  
• encourage the provision of some rental residential buildings along with condominiums and particularly favour projects that offer both subsidized and non-subsidized units.
  
  
• encourage the inclusion of some family-sized units in every residential development as well as the provision of child-friendly amenity spaces.
  
  
• encourage the provision of easily accessible parking for bicycles and auto-sharing agencies.
  
  
• oppose above-grade parking and single-storey developments.
  
  
• encourage the incorporation of additional public/community spaces when new developments are planned.
  
  
• support the Heritage Lighting Master Plan for Old Town Toronto and all similar measures that strengthen the heritage character of St. Lawrence.

Revised June 2011.

If you prefer a pdf version of these Guidelines, it is HERE.