Project update and background - October 2025

The City of Ottawa’s Urban Design Guidelines for Low-Rise Infill Housing was first adopted in 2012 to help ensure that new small-scale housing developments fit well within established neighbourhoods. Following a Council approved housekeeping update in 2022, additional technical work and consultations were undertaken to inform a more comprehensive revision including a public open house in June 2023. The project was paused at the end of 2023 to confirm alignment with the development of the new Zoning By-law, ensuring consistency between policy and regulation.

In 2025, work resumed in alignment with the production of the final draft of the Zoning By-law. Stakeholder working group meetings comprising of staff, developers and public delegates, began in June 2025, leading to the preparation of a new draft guideline document released for review and public engagement in October 2025. This draft builds upon the input from both the public and industry received since the beginning of 2022.