Text Amendment - Landscaping and Driveways for Small Apartment Buildings

The City is considering an amendment to the Envision St. John's Development Regulations to modify landscaping requirements and enable driveways for small apartment buildings with six or fewer dwelling units within a Residential Zone.

The proposed amendment will introduce new landscaping requirements in Section 7.6.1 of the Development Regulations, which will apply specifically to small apartment buildings within Residential Zones. The proposed changes will allow small apartment buildings with five or six units to have driveways instead of parking lots and meet residential landscaping standards instead of commercial standards. 

Other changes proposed include:

• Removing the requirement for bicycle parking for small apartment buildings in a Residential Zone, except where a development is located along a planned bicycle network.

• Removing the existing front yard landscaping requirements for triplex, four-plex, and apartment buildings with a maximum 6 units from the Zone standards and adding these requirements to Section 7.6.1 Landscaping.

• Removing references to the Commercial Development Policy and maximum Driveway width from Section 7.6.1.

• Rewording and reorganizing Section 7.6.1 to clarify existing landscaping requirements.

No new uses are proposed as part of this amendment. A Municipal Plan amendment is not needed. 

You can learn more about this amendment on the Planning St. John’s webpage at engagestjohns.ca/planning. The Planning St. John's webpage allows the public to learn more about planning applications, track progress, give feedback and ask questions all in one place. 

Comment By

9:30 a.m. Tuesday, October 14, 2025.

Comments

Provide your comments to the Office of the City Clerk including your name and address to cityclerk@stjohns.ca or P.O. Box 908, St. John’s NL  A1C 5M2.

Comments received become a matter of public record and are included in the Council agenda for the date a decision on the application will be made. Any identifying information (including your name) will be removed prior to your comment being released publicly. If you are writing on behalf of a group, organization, business, etc. and wish to remain anonymous, you must indicate as such with your submission.

Collection of personal information is authorized under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015 and is needed to consider your comments on this application. Questions about the collection and use of your information may be directed to the City Clerk at 709-576-8619 or cityclerk@stjohns.ca.

Additional Information

For more information call 709-576-6192, email planning@stjohns.ca.