Public park space is for everyone in Kitchener to use, and is vital to complete communities. All development impacts these communities, and contributes to public park space proportional to the type and size of development.
On this page:
- About park dedication
- Transition
- Calculation
- Calculation examples
- Conditions
- How to pay cash-in-lieu fees
About park dedication
As a condition of development, we can ask developers to give a part of their land to help expand and enhance the public open space system. Where land opportunities are limited, we ask for cash-in-lieu of land to use for future parks. Section 42 of the Provincial Planning Act allows us to do this.
We ask for land or cash-in-lieu of land using our park dedication bylaw and park dedication policy. Our bylaw and policy describe how we apply Section 42 of the Planning Act in Kitchener. City council approved the updated park dedication bylaw and policy on August 22, 2022.
Transition
The new bylaw defines a transition period for developments already in the approval process. If a complete application was received before August 22, the park dedication requirements in the previous park dedication bylaw and park dedication policy apply.
A complete application includes any of these:
- official plan amendment
- zoning bylaw amendment
- site plan
- vacant land condominium
- subdivision
- consent
The same development must receive consent or approval from the list below before August 22, 2023 to be eligible for the transition clause:
- final site plan approval
- draft plan approval for subdivision
- draft plan approval vacant land condominium
- provisional consent
Calculation
Both our park dedication bylaw and policy include calculations for land or cash-in-lieu of land.
Our limits and conditions fall below the provincial policy maximums:
- commercial or industrial development – 2% of the land area
- all other development – whichever is greater:
- 5% of the land area
- 1 hectare per 300 residential units, when dedicating land
- 1 hectare per 500 residential units, when dedicating cash-in-lieu of land
We use land values within the bylaw to convert land to cash-in-lieu values predictably for all developments.
Our current values are:
| Category | Applicable built form | $ per hectare | Per residential unit value (1 hectare per 500 units) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail or neighbourhood commercial | Not applicable | $3,830,000 | Not applicable |
| Industrial | Not applicable | $1,853,000 | Not applicable |
| Employment or office | Not applicable | $2,348,000 | Not applicable |
| Residential - lots |
Individual lots, including:
|
$36,080 (per linear meter of road frontage) |
Not applicable |
| Residential - low density |
Subdivision, including:
|
$2,348,000 | $4,696 |
| Residential - medium density (<2 FSI) |
|
$3,830,000 | $7,660 |
| Residential - medium density, mixed use (<2 FSI) | Not applicable | $5,931,000 | $11,862 |
| Residential - high density (5-10 FSI) | Not applicable | $19,768,000 | $39,536 |
| Residential - high density (>10 FSI) | Not applicable | $43,243,000 | $86,486 |
Calculation examples
There are many versions of park dedication, some of which will ask for land. Our parks and cemeteries division will determine the final dedication requirements.
For reference, here are some commonly applied cash-in-lieu values:
- consent applications
- common residential severances: property frontage (l.m.) x $36,080 x 5% of land area
- subdivision applications
- land, calculated at the lesser of 10 sq.m. per person or 1 hectare per 300 units (persons per unit conversions are included in the Dedication Policy)
- site plan applications
- commonly unit rates are applied as identified in the cash-in-lieu value chart
- consult with our parks and cemeteries division for more complex developments
- official plan amendments or zone change applications
- park dedication is not a requirement within these application types
- we will provide calculations as preliminary estimates only
Conditions
Please review both the bylaw and policy for a complete list of all conditions.
Some conditions include:
- all cash-in-lieu dedications are capped at $11,862 per dwelling unit
- all non-residential development is exempt from park dedication
- affordable housing developments will have reduced dedication requirements
- land will be limited to 10% of the total site area as a condition of site plan approval (refer to policy for full statement)
- land will be limited to the lesser of 10 square meters per person or 1 hectare per 300 units as a condition of site plan approval or subdivision (refer to policy for residential unit conversation methods)
How to pay cash-in-lieu of park land
Park dedications are a requirement of development to be received prior to releasing building permits. We collect cash-in-lieu of park land dedications as a condition within each development process that it applies to.
Where it is a condition of development, cash-in-lieu of land dedication is received before the building permit is released.