Pedestrian Commercial Shopping Street Overlay Review: Supporting High Quality Main Street Development

At the March 22, 2016 Executive Committee meeting, City Administration was asked to review and amend the Pedestrian Commercial Shopping Street Overlay (PCSSO). The purpose of this review is to support high quality, pedestrian-oriented development along Edmonton’s main streets.

What’s Changing?

The PCSSO as it exists was designed to maintain the pedestrian-oriented character of traditional commercial areas, typically shopping streets near residential areas of the city. The PCSSO has been an effective tool for supporting active main streets, but it currently only applies to a few streets in Edmonton.

There are also opportunities to update some of the regulations to ensure they continue to support pedestrian-oriented areas.

The update of the PCSSO will include a review of the existing regulations, as well as the areas where it could apply, including other main street areas and potentially Transit-Oriented Development locations. Changing the parking requirements is also in scope of this review. 

Public Consultation

The City of Edmonton is committed to citizen engagement. Administration will be undertaking several engagement events throughout the course of this review. The first opportunity for engagement will happen in mid to late September. Watch this space or sign up for our mailing list to keep informed of opportunities to participate.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Robert Rutherford directly.

Project Phases

Stage 1 - Setting the Stage

June - August 2016

Sign up for our mailing list

Stage 2 - Main Street Conversations

August - November 2016

Take part in workshop sessions, survey

Stage 3 - Refreshing the Overlay

December 2016 - February 2017

Review draft amendments and areas of application

Stage 4 - Implementing the Overlay

March - June 2017

Speak at City Council

Current Regulations

An overlay is a set of additional land use regulations that add to the zoning rules of specific areas around the city. These regulations will often supersede the regulations of the base zone, modifying a variety of elements of development, such as height, parking requirements, and landscaping. An overlay can never alter the Permitted or Discretionary Uses, Floor Area Ratio or density of the base zone in effect.

The Pedestrian Commercial Shopping Street Overlay is contained in Section 819 of the Zoning Bylaw. The regulations focus on different aspects of building design that help create high quality main streets.

For example, some of the regulations require buildings to have small storefronts and to create welcoming pedestrian spaces, including entry features such as outdoor seating areas and canopies. The overlay also requires parking to be behind buildings and does not allow front driveways from the street to cross the sidewalk.

The overlay currently applies to areas along Whyte Avenue, Fort Road, areas downtown along 97 Street and Norwood Boulevard and along 98th Avenue.

There is a similar overlay, specific to Alberta Avenue, called the Alberta Avenue Pedestrian Commercial Shopping Street Overlay, which is contained in Section 821. Administration will review this overlay for content and opportunity for collaboration between the two sets of regulations.

For More Information

Robert Rutherford