Memorial Centre Soccer Stadium
Are Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments necessary?
Paul Barbeau, Victory Grounds Ventures, answers a question from the audience at the Strata Hotel, January 10, 2025
Friday morning, January 10, Paul Barbeau, Managing Partner, Victory Grounds Ventures, told about 40 people gathered at the Strata Hotel that the Memorial Centre was the right location for the seasonally-domed soccer facility that his group is proposing. After looking at other locations in Kingston, he said that the site “worked very well” and is “zoned for what we are trying to do.”
A review of the City’s Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw indicates that this is not the case should the group be intending to build a stadium on the site.
The in-place City rules suggest that both the City’s Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw would need to be amended to allow a stadium on the Memorial Centre grounds.
Note that City staff were not consulted in the preparation of this summary.
Kingston’s Official Plan and Zoning rules
Kingston’s Official Plan has one section on the Memorial Centre.
Official Plan, Section 3.8.19, says “The Memorial Centre will be developed to respect the seven Council endorsed principles for site development, that development be “green”, “connected”, “diverse”, “flexible”, “balanced”, “affordable” and “accessible”.”
These principles were written after extensive consultations during the Revitalization and Rejuvenation of the Memorial Centre Site process in 2006. They remain City policy.
Memorial Centre has an “Open Space” designation
In the Official Plan’s Land Use Map, Schedule 3A, the Memorial Centre is identified as “Open Space.”
A “Stadium” is not permitted in an “Open Space” zone
The City’s Zoning Bylaw, Section 3.19.18, says a “stadium” “means the use of any lot where outdoor or partially enclosed facilities are provided primarily for the gathering of persons for civil, political, travel, religious, social, educational, recreational, or similar purposes or for the consumption of food or drink, excluding outdoor seating at a sports field or any other use otherwise defined herein.”
A “stadium” is not a permitted use in the Open Space zone. Section 18.1.2.
Zoning Bylaw Table 7.2.2, point 4, requires 0.25 accessible parking spaces per person for a stadium.
Zoning Bylaw Table 7.3.1, point 73, requires 0.1 short-term bicycle spaces per person for a stadium.
Mr. Barbeau has said that there will be off-site parking for soccer league game events. This does not change the needs for on-site accessible parking.
Is Victory Grounds Ventures planning to build a recreational sports facility or a stadium?
I've been following this, thanks to your reporting Vicki. So it sounds like he's either misinformed or lying. And both of those things concern me. Along with the fact that he thinks it's great that because he's a private venture capitalist he doesn't have to reveal who his investors are. Kingstonians deserve and informed transparent process here.