Background
In 2014, the City of Kitchener approved their Official Plan which included designated "Strategic Growth Areas" ("Major Transit Station Areas") around LRT stations. These areas also have adjacent "Mixed Use Areas" which allow for commercial buildings, offices, and low-rise residential towers, among other things.
In late 2025, the City released the draft of their new updated Official Plan called “Kitchener 2051”. This new plan proposes substantial changes to the Strategic Growth Areas in the city. The major changes relevant to the Westmount neighbourhood include:
-
Introduction of a sweeping new land use called “Neighbourhood Growth Area” which permits development of 6-storey buildings, offices, and commercial buildings across all of Westmount.
-
Expansion of the Strategic Growth Area “Mixed Use A” into Westmount from Belmont Ave west to Dunbar Road. This land use permits development of 8-storey buildings, offices, and commercial buildings.
Image below shows the Land Use map from the 2014 Official Plan where:
-
All Strategic Growth Areas (purple) were focused on the land east of Belmont Ave towards the Grand River Hospital LRT Station and the Central LRT Station.
-
Mixed-Use designation applied to the Belmont Ave business corridor.
-
The residential area of Westmount was designated as Low-Rise Residential which permits development of residential buildings up to 3-storeys.
The image below shows the Land Use map from the new draft Official Plan Kitchener 2051 where:
-
Strategic Growth Area Mixed Use A (light purple) now expands west as far as Dunbar Road. This permits development up to 8-storeys including commercial and offices.
-
The remainder of Westmount is designated Neighbourhood Growth Area which permits development up to 6-storeys including commercial and offices.
This change is especially surprising because the City has been undertaking studies related to growth within the original Strategic Growth Areas for nearly a decade. In fact, in March 2024, City Council adopted a growth policy framework through an amendment to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law. Up until that time, these Strategic Growth Areas and Mixed Use areas did not include any part of the Westmount Neighbourhood. Consequently, the policy development has been based on the old Strategic Growth Areas which did not include the Westmount Neighbourhood. This means that the unique nature of the Westmount neighbourhood has not informed any of the policies and frameworks.
Cultural Heritage
Landscape
In 2014, the City of Kitchener established the historic Westmount Neighbourhood as an official Cultural Heritage Landscape (CHL) based on its cultural heritage value and historical integrity. The character defining features that were described in the 2014 report noted: “Features of this community include both the street pattern and the streets, plantings and fixtures which were completed during a depression era make-work project. The landscaped centre medians…on Union Boulevard, Rusholme and Claremont Avenue. Many well-maintained finely detailed residential designs from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s including at least one home of a much earlier period incorporated into the street pattern; a long period of stylistic evolution; and the integration of the Westmount Golf Course.”
Westmount is a neighbourhood with a truly unique and cherished character. Its gently curving streets, historic streetlights, and beautifully maintained homes from the 1920s to 1940s make Westmount a living piece of our City’s history. It is a neighbourhood worthy of protection. In fact, the Kitchener 2051 plan even states that “The city will conserve cultural heritage resources including…Cultural Heritage Landscapes”. It is inconsistent to divide this CHL into two separate land use designations and permit 6-storey buildings in one area and 8-storey buildings in the other area.
It is worth noting that Kitchener 2051 has already included some protective provisions for several other CHL neighbourhoods. These protections have included limiting development to 3-storeys and requiring that new building setbacks (from neighbouring property lines and road frontages) align with original building setbacks. We believe Westmount deserves similar protections.
A map of the Westmount CHL (highlighted in yellow) is on the left, followed by the same map overlaid with the new land use proposals on the right.
Call to Action
A team of local Westmount neighbours has come together to rally the community. We want to ensure that the City updates the Kitchener 2051 plan to protect the unique and culturally-significant streets of Westmount.
Our team is requesting these changes to the draft Kitchener 2051 Official Plan:
-
The land use designation for the entire Westmount area should be “Neighbourhood Growth Area”. Westmount is one neighbourhood and the same-land use designation and development rules should apply throughout. This means the Strategic Growth Area “Mixed Use A” should not be expanded into the Westmount neighbourhood and should end at Belmont Ave as per the 2014 Official Plan.
-
The addition of specific protective provisions for Westmount. The plan already includes special provisions for several historic neighbourhoods (e.g., Pandora, Caryndale, Rockway and Queen’s Boulevard neighbourhoods) which restrict development to 3-storeys and require new building setbacks to align with existing building setbacks. The same restrictions should be incorporated for Westmount.
What Can I do?
Most importantly, share your feedback with the City in writing. Send an e-mail to all four of these contacts as soon as possible:
Margaret.Johnston@kitchener.ca
Ensure that your email includes:
-
Your full name and your primary address
-
An explanation of what you value about living in or around Westmount and why you think it is worth protecting from expanded development
-
Your concern about 6-storey and 8-storey development in Westmount and the impact it will have on the community and cultural heritage landscape
-
Emphasize that all of Westmount should be designated as a Neighbourhood Growth Area because we are one cultural heritage landscape. Westmount should not be divided and have two different land use designations.
-
Request that provisions specific to Westmount be added to the Kitchener 2051 plan to give Westmount the protections it deserves as one of Kitchener's most significant areas of cultural heritage. Other CHLs already have extra protections, such as 3-storey height restrictions and setback limits, and Westmount should too.
It is critical that the City receive a high volume of feedback from Westmount community members to drive this change.
Please plan to attend the City of Kitchener's upcoming "Walk Shop" which will take place in the Westmount neighbourhood. Neighbours are invited to join a Heritage Consultant who will be walking the streets of Westmount inventorying heritage features and collecting feedback and information from neighbours.
Westmount Walkshop
Thursday March 24
5:30pm to 7:00pm
Meeting point: To be confirmed
Get Updates
Sign-up for our private mailing list and be kept up to date on what is happening next in this effort.