Clarington Waterfront Strategy
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Project description
The Municipality is working to update its waterfront strategy with a renewed vision for the 34 kilometres of Clarington's waterfront shoreline to ensure that our community and visitors can enjoy the pristine beauty of the space today, tomorrow and in the future. We are looking to balance public access to our green spaces and our waterfront with the need to support growth and development. The Strategy will look at how new development can enhance our waterfront by supporting sustainable, barrier-free access to the lakefront with high-quality amenities and parks. The renewed vision will also look at tourism opportunities to leverage our waterfront as a potential destination with amenities attracting visitors and fostering more economic development. The renewed vision will explore opportunities for residents to enjoy the waterfront year-round. It will include conceptual plans for the municipally owned lands along the Courtice, Bowmanville and Newcastle waterfronts, capturing their unique identities.
This renewed vision will look at a community-wide approach to these outdoor spaces creating recreational destinations for public enjoyment in the heart of Clarington. We want to create a sanctuary where people can relax and escape. The Strategy aims to increase public access between our waterfront areas and provide more lakefront recreational space. We also want to build more trail connections to the waterfront from our downtowns, expanding pedestrian and cycling access. The renewed vision will embrace the natural features of the waterfront by preserving these and ensuring that any future plan complements and enhances the area's natural beauty. The Waterfront Strategy will look at the opportunities for the lakefront and balance them with the existing environmental, economic, and geographic constraints. The Strategy will contain an achievable, sustainable, and affordable plan for the lakefront with clear priorities that set out a renewed vision for the next 30 years.
Clarington is a thriving municipality in Durham Region where open space and natural elements define the essence of the community. In 1992, Clarington created a Waterfront Strategy with a vision to increase public access and ownership of lands along the lakefront from three to 30 per cent. Since then, we’ve made a lot of headway, but more work is needed. The updated plan aims to further that goal and expand the use of these highly sought-after tourism destination amenities and treasured natural local areas.
The goals of the Clarington Waterfront Strategy are to incorporate the opportunities presented by future development plans along the lake, link active transportation connections and trails to the waterfront, and maintain the natural and cultural heritage diversity to provide waterfront experiences as the population grows.
Project overview
| Purpose |
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The Municipality of Clarington has undertaken the preparation of the Clarington Waterfront Strategy that will align with the Clarington Strategic Plan, Clarington Official Plan, 2020 Lake Ontario Shoreline Management Plan, Courtice Waterfront Study and other secondary plans along the lake. Dillon Consulting Limited and urbanMetrics have been retained by the Municipality of Clarington , to assist in the preparation of the Clarington Waterfront Strategy. The study's primary objective is to prepare a Waterfront Strategy that includes a complete market analysis and economic evaluation of the concepts, building a grounded framework for implementation and funding. |
| Approach and Methodology |
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The study will also include the development of concept plans for the Bowmanville and Newcastle waterfronts, as well as an integrated concept plan for the entire 34 kilometre waterfront. The project will incorporate ongoing planning work for Port Granby and the Courtice waterfront, including already completed Secondary Plans. As part of the development, a market analysis will be conducted to look at tourism and recreational opportunities for the waterfront study area, including identifying the economic benefits of an enhanced waterfront and open spaces that support local residents and attract new users. urbanMetrics will provide an economic and market impact assessment of the proposed waterfront concept plans. Any recommended development that may require an Environment Assessment (EA) will be identified as part of the strategy. The necessary steps for the EA process will be followed in the future and do not require additional costs as part of the current approach. |
Meetings and Notices
This is our waterfront. We will engage the community throughout the process to ensure that the new plan reflects our collective vision.
Stay tuned for upcoming meeting dates.
Resources
- Video: An Introduction to Renewing Clarington’s Waterfront vision
- 1992 Waterfront Study – Recommended Land Use Strategy (available on request)
Related Studies
Stay informed and get involved
We encourage your comments throughout the course of the study. If you have feedback, require further information or would like to be added to the project mailing list, please email WaterfrontStrategy@clarington.net.
Subscribe using the blue "Subscribe to this Page" button to receive email notification when this page is updated with upcoming meetings, surveys and reports.
Get in touch with project management staff: Sarah Allin, Senior Planner at 905-623-3379 ext. 2419 or Lisa Backus, Manager Community Planning, 905-623-3379 ext. 2413 or email WaterfrontStrategy@clarington.net.
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