NEW HOMES ON SMALLER LOTS, BACKYARD HOUSING ON THE TABLE AS THUNDER BAY AIMS TO EASE URBAN SPRAWL
A proposed overhaul to Thunder Bay’s housing bylaws stands to make “a significant change” to stemming urban sprawl. The public will have its say on the second draft of the northwestern Ontario city’s Comprehensive Zoning By-Law at a special council meeting on Tuesday. The plan would level residential zoning across the city, opening the door for homeowners to subdivide any detached house, build new homes on smaller lots, and even allow for residential housing in...
read moreTHE HUNT FOR THE MISSING MIDDLE
It’s safe to say that entire neighbourhoods within the GTA who have been void of triplex or quad housing projects will not be for too much longer. The need to create alternative housing configurations spurred on by the sheer cost of purchasing a semi-detached or detached home throughout the region is obvious. In fact, according to a report called Meeting in the Middle released in December by the Toronto Region Board of Trade, one planning reform calls for an end to residentially zoned...
read moreCITY COUNCIL GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO GARDEN SUITES, GROWING HOUSES OPTIONS IN TORONTO
Today, Toronto City Council expanded permissions to allow residents to build garden suites on residential properties in the city. A garden suite is a housing unit, usually located in the backyard of an existing house, but separate and detached from the main house. Garden suites, like laneway suites, are generally smaller than the main house on the lot. Garden Suites are often a way to create homes for family members – parents, grandparents or adult children – or can be used as rental housing...
read moreDOUG FORD TO HOLD HOUSING AFFORDABILITY SUMMIT WITH ONTARIO CITY MAYORS NEXT MONTH
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is inviting municipal leaders to a summit on housing affordability. The meeting with Ford, Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark and the mayors and regional chairs of big cities is set for Dec. 16. Ford says his goal for the summit is to work on solutions to address the “crisis” of housing affordability so more families can become homeowners. Clark is also set to hold a session on housing affordability with rural municipalities in January. The latest...
read moreTORONTO MAY LIFT PARKING SPACE MINIMUMS FOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN BID TO ADDRESS HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
City staff are recommending that zoning laws be amended so that a minimum number of parking spaces no longer have to be constructed as part of new residential developments. A report that will go before the city’s planning and housing committee on Thursday recommends that parking minimums for new developments be scrapped city-wide “with the exception of maintaining minimum requirements for visitor parking and accessible parking.” In the report, staff argue that removing the requirement for a...
read moreOWNER OF CANADA’S MOST VALUABLE MALL PLANS TO ADD APARTMENTS
The owner of Canada’s most valuable shopping mall is planning to add apartment buildings to that property and two others around Toronto, creating mixed-use neighborhoods that invite renters to live where they shop. Oxford Properties Group’s plans for rental apartment towers at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Canada’s most productive mall by sales per square foot, are still in an early stage, President Michael Turner said. But construction has begun at the Square One Mall in nearby Mississauga, he...
read moreVANCOUVER HAS A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE OF CANADIAN CITIES
Housing was the central issue of the 2018 civic election in Vancouver. Home prices had surged almost 60 per cent in the four years since the last vote and there were many pledges to get more housing built. The first big move of the newly elected city council, however, was a long punt: Instead of an urgent push for change, council voted to embark on creating a new city-wide plan, a ponderous process that has ended up taking almost its entire term in office. Three years later, the broad outlines...
read moreALL-WOMEN DEVELOPMENT TEAM ADVANCES SOCIAL-HOUSING PROJECT NEAR VANCOUVER CITY HALL
The City of Vancouver has approved a rezoning application for a social-housing development for and by women. The developer says it’s the “first of its kind in Canada and possibly even North America”. “What is especially unique about this project is that it is being delivered by an all-women team,” Carla Guerrera told the Straight in a phone interview. Guerrera is the founder and CEO of Purpose Driven Development, a Vancouver-based company working with the Soroptimist International of Vancouver...
read moreVAUGHAN DEVELOPER BRINGS PRIVATELY FINANCED RENTAL BUILDING TO LIFE
Sept. 1 is the official move in date for Vaughan’s “first privately sponsored rental building,” said Jack Morelli, president of First Avenue Properties, behind the 45-units edifice at 8010 Kipling Ave. The building is like a “mini condo,” Morelli said in awe of the building’s modern-feel, yet made matching next to a heritage home. Unlike older rentals, this building’s units come with their own washing machines and dryers each, and underground parking. First Avenue also had to change its plans...
read moreLAND USE APPROVAL PROCESS NEEDS REFORM
Minister’s zoning orders (MZOs) are getting a bad rap in the media these days. However, they remain a necessary tool because the development approvals process in some municipalities is much too slow. Projects can get stalled due to duplicative red tape or a bureaucratic logjam. Oftentimes, MZOs are simply the only way for a project to be moved forward. Municipalities themselves have asked the province to step in and issue an MZO. Toronto, for example, sought one to speed up construction of two...
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