More lowrise apartment blocks, townhouses coming to neighbourhood main streets
Thousands of new homes, including lowrise apartment buildings, can potentially be built on neighbourhood main streets across Toronto thanks to city council’s latest effort to boost housing supply.
Council voted 21-3 Thursday to let developers erect buildings of up to six storeys and 60 units, as well as townhouses, on specific major roads without having to apply for rezoning applications or minor variances. Seeking those permissions added cost and time to projects on thoroughfares such as Islington Avenue in Etobicoke and Brimley Road in Scarborough, making some development unfeasible.
A city map highlighting areas where a new city proposal would allow more townhouses and apartments of up to six storeys.
Council voted Thursday to let developerserect buildings of up to six storeys and 60 units, such as those on Vaughan Road near Bathurst Street, on specific major roads without having to apply for rezoning applications or minor variances.
Toronto will allow townhomes, small apartments on major streets
Toronto will allow townhouses and small apartments on the majority of major streets across Toronto, after city council voted to approve the move Thursday.
Before the change, townhouses and small apartments were only permitted in designated areas across the city. Now, up to six-storey apartments with a maximum of 60 units can be built along major roads as of right — which is 30 more units initially recommended by staff.
“We know Toronto has a serious housing crisis and we know we have to build now,” said Mayor Olivia Chow.
“By building this way, we’re saying yes to more neighbours, we’re saying yes to newcomers … we have promised to do whatever we can to support them.”
The move, recommended in a report by city staff, will create “moderate” density in transit routes and corridors, help the city distribute growth more evenly, provide diversity in housing and help accommodate the city’s growing population, the report says. It will also open up over 31,000 lots to new potential housing.
As part of the move, city council asked staff to find ways to create opportunities to build rent-controlled, affordable rentals and affordable ownership homes by non-profit providers on the lots.
we created the above list manually from the MAP, it’s possible we missed a street or two.
For the first time since the inception of the Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (EHON) initiative led by former Chief Planner Greg Lintern, we are witnessing a bold proposal, especially compared to everything we have witnessed so far. Unlike the solutions presented and approved thus far, this proposal stands a real chance of making a significant impact and moving the needle on our housing crisis.
In a nutshell, the proposed change presented to Planning and Housing Committee members today will allow a broader range of housing typologies on Major Streets within ‘Neighbourhoods’ – a land use designation marked in yellow on the Official Plan. For years, it has been mockingly referred to as the ‘yellow belt,’ drawing a parallel to the green belt, to emphasize how restrictive and challenging it can be to intensify these areas.
The new proposal will permit the construction of residential buildings up to 6 storeys in height or 30 units on properties designated as “Neighbourhoods.” It will require varying setback measures for front, rear, and side property lines. Additionally, the proposed policy will permit the inclusion of small-scale retail establishments to meet local needs.
