City-Initiated Official Plan Amendment No. 180 (OPA 180) and Zoning By-law Amendment (AM-2025-001)(PLOPZB20250041)
Owner Occupied Short-Term Rentals in Residential Areas

Council Meeting

A Public Meeting of Council has been scheduled for:

• Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2025
• Time: Public Meetings start at 5:00 p.m. The Public Meeting will take place in accordance with Council’s agenda.
• Place: City Hall, Council Chambers, 4310 Queen Street and/or Web-based Platform
• Online: Visit https://niagarafalls.ca/city-hall/council/schedule... to watch the Council Meeting

Any public individual/group interested in making comments on this application or viewing and/or participating in this meeting is encouraged to use the methods noted further below.

Proposed Amendments

Location

The City of Niagara Falls has initiated an Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment to implement policies and regulations that will permit Owner Occupied Short-Term Rentals in Residential Areas in the urban area.

The proposed Official Plan Amendment will apply to all lands designated Residential, where home occupations are permitted. The proposed Zoning By-law Amendment will apply to all lands zoned R1A, R1B, R1C, R1D, R1E, R1F, R2, R3, R4 and TRM. The areas affected by the proposed amendments are shown on the location maps.

Purpose and Effect

The proposed Official Plan Amendment includes permissions for Owner Occupied Short-Term Rentals where permissions exist for Bed and Breakfast establishments as a home occupation in residential designations. The proposed Zoning Bylaw Amendment will allow Owner Occupied Short-Term Rentals within or accessory to permitted detached dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, duplex dwellings, and townhouse dwellings in Lands zoned R1A, R1B, R1C, R1D, R1E, R1F, R2, R3, R4 or TRM under Zoning By-law No. 79-200.

The key provisions associated with the zoning permissions include:

• The owner must have their principal residence on the property and must be present for the duration of the rental period;
• The rental must be within a separate contained dwelling unit;
• Only one Owner Occupied Short-Term Rental is permitted per property;
• The owner must obtain a license from the City and keep it current and maintained in good standing;
• The number of bedrooms would be limited to 3;
• The number of guests permitted would be in accordance with the Ontario Building Code to a maximum of 6;
• Parking requirements would be 1 for the owner and 1 for the Owner Occupied Short Term-Rental with a 2nd space required if
• there are 3 bedrooms (2-3 spaces required based on size);
• Owner Occupied Short Term Rentals could be rented to a single group for a period of 28 consecutive days or less;
• Would be rented to a single group (not renting bedrooms to different groups of people); and
• Unit must contain kitchen and bathroom facilities.

To implement the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments, changes to the Licensing By-law, Fee By-law, Administrative Penalties (Non-Parking) By-law, and the Municipal Accommodation Tax By-law would be required should Council approve the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments.

Have Your Say

Public input on the proposed amendments is invited. Written comments may be sent by mail or email. You can also provide oral input by attending the Public Meeting in person or virtually.

Written Submission

Please provide written input or request notice of Council’s decision by mailing your comments to the Planning, Building and Development Department, City Hall, 4310 Queen Street, Niagara Falls, Ontario, L2E 6X5 or by sending an email to kgoerz@niagarafalls.ca. Comments are preferred to be provided before noon on Friday, March 14th, 2025, to be included in Council’s agenda package.

Oral Submission

To participate virtually or in person at the Public Meeting, please pre-register with the City Clerk by sending an email to billmatson@niagarafalls.ca before 4:30 PM on Monday, March 17th, 2025. All registrants who indicate that they wish to attend virtually will be provided with instructions on how to participate in the Public Meeting using an electronic platform. Registrants will be notified of Council’s decision.

View the Meeting

The Public Meeting can be live-streamed on the City’s webpage of the Council Meeting Schedule at https://niagarafalls.ca/city-hall/council/schedule... on the day of the event. The meeting will also be archived on the same webpage for viewing after the event.

More Information

For more information about this matter, including information about appeal rights, please contact Kailen Goerz, Senior Manager of Long-Range Planning Initiatives, at (905) 356-7521, extension 4252, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. or by email anytime at kgoerz@niagarafalls.ca.

A copy of the proposed Official Plan amendment and the proposed Zoning By-law amendment can be found on the City’s Current Planning Applications page at the following link: https://niagarafalls.ca/city-hall/planning/current-planning-applications/default.aspx. The Planning, Building and Development Department’s Recommendation Report on the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments will be available at https://niagarafalls.ca/city-hall/council/schedule... after 4:00 p.m. on March 14th, 2025, the Friday before the meeting.

Legal Notice Sections 17 and 34 of the Planning Act

If you wish to be notified of the decision of the City of Niagara Falls on the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments, you must make a written request to the City of Niagara Falls’ Planning, Building and Development Department, City Hall, 4310 Queen Street, Niagara Falls, Ontario, L2E 6X5 or by sending an email to kgoerz@niagarafalls.ca.

In accordance with Bill 185, which received Royal Assent on June 6th, 2024, the Minister, the applicant, or a specified person, public body, or registered owner of any land to which the Official Plan Amendment or Zoning By-law Amendment will apply, who made oral submissions at a Public Meeting or written submissions prior to the adoption of the Official Plan Amendment or passage of the Zoning By-law Amendment, may appeal the Official Plan Amendment or Zoning By-law Amendment to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Third-party appeals are no longer permitted.

If a person or public body would otherwise have an ability to appeal the decision of the Council of the City of Niagara Falls to the Ontario Land Tribunal but the person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the City of Niagara Falls before the proposed official plan amendment is adopted or the proposed zoning by-law amendment is passed, the person or public body is not entitled to appeal the decision.

If a person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the City of Niagara Falls before the proposed Official Plan Amendment is adopted or the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment is passed, the person or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Ontario Land Tribunal unless, in the opinion of the Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to add the person or public body as a party.

DATED at the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario this 22nd day of February 2025.