City of Pickering Official Plan- Edition 6

Urban Residential Areas
Urban residential areas are to be used primarily for housing
and related uses, including home occupations and group
homes. To ensure that these areas provide an appropriate
degree of neighbourhood and community services, other
uses are also permissible, including, schools, parks,
libraries, places of worship, limited office development,
limited retailing of goods and services, limited employment
uses, and limited special purpose commercial uses.
Urban residential areas are differentiated on the basis of
net residential density (the number of residential dwellings
per net residential hectare). Low, medium and high density
areas are distinguished. Most of the residential areas in
south Pickering are designated low density. Medium and
high density areas are established in selected locations,
usually close to Mixed Use Areas.
3.9 City Council,
(a) shall recognize as Urban Residential Areas
on Schedule I, those areas in the City
intended primarily for housing and related
uses and activities, including group homes
and home occupations;
(b) may zone lands designated Urban
Residential Areas for one or more purposes
as set out in Table 9, and in so doing will
apply appropriate performance standards,
restrictions and provisions, including those
set out in Table 10;
(c) in establishing performance standards,
restrictions and provisions for Urban
Residential Areas, shall have particular
regard to the following,
(i) protecting and enhancing the character
of established neighbourhoods,
considering such matters as building
height, yard setback, lot coverage,
access to sunlight, parking provisions
and traffic implications;
(ii) restricting net residential densities to
less than the maximums set out in
Table 10 in response to provisions
specified in a Part Three Neighbourhood
Plan (Chapter Eleven), or where
neighbourhood character and/or
environmental constraints warrant; and
Density is calculated by
dividing the total number of
dwellings on the lot by the
area of the lot (only that
portion of the lot which has
a designation that permits
residential development
may be included).
Therefore, on a given parcel
of land, so long as the same
number of units are
proposed, the density would
be the same regardless of
whether those units are
stacked vertically in a highrise,
or attached
horizontally in a low-rise.
High density therefore does
not necessarily mean highrise
CITY POLICY
Urban Residential Areas
Density, by itself, does not
control housing form.
Housing form is controlled
by other land use and
design policies of this Plan,
including the adjacent
policy requiring that City
Council establish
performance standards,
restrictions and provisions
to protect and enhance the
“character of established
neighbourhoods”. Other
policies that will act to
influence housing form are
found throughout the Plan,
particularly in Chapters
Thirteen and Fifteen.
PICKERING OFFICIAL PLAN EDITION 6: Chapter Three -- Land Use 70