• B6 - Downtown Commercial District Review - Project Update - Information Report to Standing Policy Committee on Planning, Development and Community Services (February 8, 2023)

Active uses on the ground floor of buildings help create animated and inviting downtown streets. Existing requirements for ground floor retail in the Retail Core Area (see Downtown Land Use map) remain important, but a shifting economic landscape is making "main street" retail more challenging in many locations. An amendment is proposed that provides more flexibility for ground floor uses in the Retail Core Area.

Downtown Land Use Map

Windows along a sidewalk help make streets more walkable and inviting. Currently, at least 40% of the ground floor of a street-facing building facade is to contain transparent openings, which means windows or doors that provide the ability to see and discern the interior space.

This requirement is proposed to remain with an adjustment that recognizes some Downtown sites with frontage on multiple streets can be challenged to meet this requirement on all street-facing building sides based on the land use and interior layouts.  It's proposed that the required area of transparent openings can be reduced on a facade, provided:

• The equivalent area is provided on a different street-facing facade;
• Design features to prevent a blank wall are provided; and
• In no case may the 40% transparent openings requirement be reduced on a facade on 21st Street or 2nd Avenue, two of Downtown's signature streets.

Downtown's most pedestrian-friendly streets have a continuous rhythm of frequent storefronts and building facades that provide interest and variety, contributing to a dynamic and animated urban environment. This fine grain form of development was historically established through narrow buildings on narrow sites. Modern buildings tend to be larger and are built on larger plots of land than during Downtown's initial development. However, the importance of frequent storefronts and variety of building facades remains.

A new regulation is proposed to require that for sites with frontages greater than 21 metres along any street, the ground floor facades must be broken up either through clearly defined storefronts or architectural features that articulate vertical divisions or bays in the facade that provide a similar visual effect.

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Where buildings are setback from a street, it is important that these setback areas be used for purposes that support inviting and pedestrian-friendly streets, such as plazas, patios and landscaping. Vehicle parking between the building and the street-facing property line is not allowed.

This is an existing provision that is being tweaked for clarity.

Buildings on corner sites must provide at-grade open space on the corner for improved pedestrian travel and sightlines. Currently, this requirement is for a minimum 3.0 m x 3.0m right triangle (shown by the red line on the diagram below), and is limited to corner sites in the Retail Core Area (see map above).

This provision is proposed to change to allow more flexibility in the triangle's dimensions while still providing the equivalent amount of open space (shown by the blue and green lines on the diagram). This requirement will also be broadened to apply to all corner sites in the B6 District.  

Active building frontages include direct entrances from the sidewalk. At least one public entrance is proposed to be required on each street-facing building facade.

It is proposed that multiple principal buildings be allowed on a site, provided there is appropriate review and consideration for site function and pedestrian safety. This change would allow greater flexibility for development forms and land use mixes on Downtown sites.

Above- and below-grade parking structures are permitted throughout Downtown. Currently, above-ground parking structures must include architectural elements on all street-facing facades so that they resemble a building facade. The ground floor of a parking structure must provide an active frontage and provide for public uses along at least 50% of its street frontage, such as retail. These requirements mean that parked vehicles are not visually prominent from the sidewalk.  No changes are proposed at this time.

Drive-throughs are not compatible with a downtown environment as their placement and configuration on a site often negatively impacts how building front and interface with streets, and can create conflict with drive-through users and pedestrians. Drive-throughs are proposed to be prohibited in the B6 District.

A vehicle loading space to allow for the loading and unloading of goods and materials is currently required for buildings with a floor area of 400 m² or larger, and can be located in the front, side, or rear yard of a property. 

This requirement is proposed to be adjusted to apply to buildings with a floor area of 1400 m² or larger, recognizing that curbside loading is appropriate for smaller buildings. A loading space will only be permitted in a side or rear yard as a loading space in a front yard would conflict with a building's pedestrian-friendly interface with the street. Where a site has existing constraints such as its layout or lack of access to a rear lane, the loading space requirement may be varied.

In the B6 District, the maximum permitted building height varies because it is based on the site area and the amount of open volume provided on the site. Any open area within the "open volume cube" that is not part of the building is considered "open volume" - this includes open space on the ground (parking spaces, landscaped areas, setbacks, etc.) and/or building exterior (step backs, rooftop decks, etc.). The diagram below depicts this concept.

Maximum permitted building height is determined at the point where site area intersects an open volume line on Figure 10.9.5(6) of the Zoning Bylaw. Click here for an example of how the open volume regulation is applied. As shown on the graph, the maximum building height on a 1200 square metre property varies. With no open volume, a 17 metre high building can be constructed. The absolute maximum height is 59.5 metres, but this is only achievable if at least 50% open volume is provided. About 28% open volume would be needed to permit a 34 metre high building.

As an approach to regulating building height and massing, open volume is good tool for providing design flexibility compared to more common density limits. However, improvements to the regulations can provide better clarity and address the restrictive effects it has on the development potential of many Downtown sites.

Updates to Open Volume are proposed to achieve the following:

• Buildings up to 25 metres high (~6 stories) are permitted on all sites with no open volume required. 
• Development rights are increased overall, especially for small and medium sites which the existing regulation has a punitive effect on.
• The opportunity for density bonusing will be broadened (see next dropdown).
• The number of open volume lines on the graph are reduced from nine to six and increase in standard increments of 10%.
• Amended bylaw text will clearly outline how the graph is to be interpreted and applied, removing current ambiguity.

The graph below compares the current regulations (light green) and the proposed regulations (dark green).

Curious about how the proposed regulations impact development potential of a specific property? Look up site areas of all B6-zoned properties here.

Currently, additional building height above 76 metres can be granted through the density bonus provisions in Appendix E of the Zoning Bylaw, where more density is granted in exchange for development features that provide a public benefit: public plaza, public art, green roof, structured parking, sustainable building practices, or heritage features. This is only available to sites that are least 1675 m² in area and provide at least 50% open volume to reach 76 metres.

The opportunity for density bonusing is proposed to be broadened to enable additional density for all sites by allowing maximum permitted building height to be exceeded for any site above that permitted by any open volume line.

The following conceptual models compare what could be built under the current open volume regulations with what would be possible under the proposed changes. Please note that these diagrams are for illustrative purposes only - they are not based on existing or planned developments and may not represent all applicable zoning and building code requirements.

Click here to view more.

Model A

Model B

Model C

Open Volume Diagram

Setbacks from the property line are currently required for parts of buildings containing residential uses. For an interior side yard, the setback requirement is 3 or 6 metres depending on building height; however, no setback is required when there are no windows, doors, or openings in that wall. A rear yard setback of 7.5 metres for interior sites and 4.5 metres for corner sites is required.

These side and rear yard setbacks are proposed to be combined into a general 3.0 m setback requirement for residential uses facing an adjacent property line where there is no street or lane and where a window, door, or other opening in the wall is provided. This brings the requirement in line with existing standards in other similar high density zones while ensuring some separation is provided.

An exception to the setback requirement is proposed for cases where an older non-residential building is converted to a residential use. This supports the adaptive reuse of older buildings Downtown, many of which were built to the property lines with no setbacks. 

For buildings over 25 metres in height, a step back or related feature that disrupts the wall relief is to be provided on all street-facing facades between 10 metres and 25 metres in height. Requiring the upper floors of a building to step back from the property line reinforces an urban streetwall through the lower floors of the buildings, and helps break down the massing of taller buildings.  This is an existing requirement, and no changes are proposed at this time. 

Facades are required to maintain distinctive architectural elements for the base, middle, and top portions of the buildings. This is to ensure that buildings have distinct, legible components to help break down their scale and emphasize each part: the bottom that's most closely experienced by pedestrians at street level, and the middle and top that's perceived in the broader cityscape and skyline views.

As this principle is most important for taller buildings, an amendment is proposed to require this only for buildings exceeding 12 metres in height or approximately 3 stories.

Articulation of the facade or change in material may be provided in lieu of distinctive portions.

Buildings that exceed 15 metres in height are currently required to prepare a wind mitigation study from a qualified professional that demonstrates methods and design features that will minimize wind impacts at grade level. Mitigation features often include building stepbacks, facade articulation, and canopies.

As Downtown densifies, managing wind impacts to ensure pedestrian comfort will become increasingly important. While this requirement is not proposed to change at this time, the City of Saskatoon is planning to develop a wind mitigation terms of reference that sets out study requirements, performance standards, and evaluation criteria to provide more effective guidance.  This work will be brought forward in future.

Rooftop mechanical equipment is proposed to be required to be integrated within the building or adequately screened from view for improved aesthetics.

Permitting more small-scale, artisan, and food manufacturing supports productive use of existing commercial space. Proposed changes would allow:

• Up to 40% of the floor area of a retail business to be used for producing goods that are sold on site (currently limited to 25%). 
• Home craft and food product manufacturing and processing to be permitted without the above floor area limit, provided there is an on-site retail component. 
  • "Home craft" means an occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity and artistic skill to construct unique items primarily by hand without the use of large power tools, and does not include the mass production of similar articles.
  • Certain types of food and drink processing such as bakeries, catering kitchens, and microbreweries are already permitted in the B6 District.

The conversion of an older non-residential building to a residential use is proposed to be exempt from setback requirements, as many Downtown buildings from previous eras were built to their property lines.  

See the Building Height and Form section for more details.

The amount of ground floor area of buildings located in the Retail Core Area that must be dedicated to retail and service uses is proposed to be reduced, and the types of uses allowed within this required area is proposed to be expanded. A shifting economic landscape is making "main street" retail more challenging in many locations, so added flexibility to allow other uses in these spaces is important.

See the Street Interface section for more details.

This table outlines current Zoning Bylaw regulations for surface parking in Downtown's B6, M4, and MX2 zones, including the land use that a surface parking development may fall under and the site improvements that are required.

Surface parking is currently permitted as-of-right everywhere in these three zoning districts and requires a development permit but no additional level of review and approval.

* Complete landscaping regulations are contained in Section 7.0 of the Zoning Bylaw.

• Temporary Surface Parking Lot means a commercial parking lot or parking station in a B6, M4, or MX2 district that is developed on an interim basis, is located at grade, is not located in a parking structure, and is the principal use of the site.
• Permanent Surface Parking Lot means a commercial parking lot or a parking station in a B6, M4, or MX2 district that is located at grade, is not located in a parking structure, and is the principal use of the site.

Temporary and permanent surface parking as the principal use of a site is proposed to be made a discretionary use throughout the B6, M4, and MX2 zones, except where proposed as a prohibited use on sites fronting or adjacent to 21st Street East and 2nd Avenue between 19th Street and 25th Street. The proposed discretionary and prohibited areas are outlined on the map below.

Discretionary uses are land uses considered to be generally appropriate for a given zone but require further review by City Administration and consultation with the community. The discretionary use application process would ensure that any new surface parking lots are in line with broader Downtown development policies and community objectives. See Discretionary Use for more information on the process for discretionary forms of development.

The prohibited use area on 21st Street and 2nd Avenue sites is proposed due to the streets' importance to Downtown as noted in City policies and plans, and the importance of a pedestrian-oriented urban form on these streets.

Neither the discretionary use requirement or prohibited use area would apply to parking located within parking structures or surface parking that is not the principal use on a site (see "Accessory Surface Parking" below), which would continue to be permitted throughout these zones.

Where proposed as a discretionary use, a temporary surface parking lot would be subject to the below requirements through a discretionary use application. 

This proposed land use facilitates an interim use of vacant land for surface parking prior to other development plans for the site advancing, which is not an option under current regulations. Given the temporary nature of this land use, requirements are intended to be lower and more straightforward than for a permanent lot. A decision on the application is to be made by City Administration based on compliance with technical requirements, not by City Council.

Where proposed as a discretionary use, a permanent surface parking lot would be subject to the below requirements through a discretionary use application. 

This proposed land use facilitates surface parking that is intended to be permanent in nature. As such, expectations for site improvements are higher than for a temporary lot. A decision on the application by City Council is required to ensure alignment with Downtown development policies and objectives. 

Surface parking that is accessory to another principal use on the same site (e.g. - an office building) will remain permitted throughout Downtown as it is today, but with the addition of landscaping being required between these parking areas and street-facing property lines to enhance the streetscape and provide some separation between the sidewalk and parked vehicles.