Item - 2023.PH8.4

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning undertake further stakeholder consultation respecting a. and b. below and report back in second quarter of 2024 with:

a. the final updated Rear Transition performance standards for the Mid-Rise Building Urban Design Guidelines; and

b. Zoning By-law Amendments implementing the updated Rear Transition performance standards and as-of-right permissions for height and density implementing the Mid-rise Building Urban Design Guidelines. 

2.  Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning make best efforts to report back by the fourth quarter of 2024 with draft consolidated mid-rise guidelines that incorporate recommendations resulting from mid-rise monitoring, public and stakeholder consultation undertaken to date, and analysis that amend the performance standards with the goal of encouraging mid-rise developments that are more economical to build and more environmentally sustainable.

The purpose of this report is to report back to the Planning and Housing Committee on the stakeholder and public consultation for the draft updated Rear Transition performance standards for mid-rise buildings, as well as the other existing Mid-Rise Buildings Performance Standards, and a timeline for implementation through Zoning By-law Amendment. This Performance Standards review is part of the Housing Action Plan to achieve or exceed the provincial housing target of 285,000 new homes of the next 10 years, adding to the 166,739 new homes completed in the past 10 years.

Mid-rise buildings are the 'in between' scale of building, and have heights generally no greater than the width of the right-of-way that it fronts onto, up to 11 storeys. Mid-rise buildings are encouraged along Avenues and in other Mixed Use Areas, with their physical form and how they relate to their context informed by the Mid-rise Building Performance Standards urban design guidelines.

City Planning has conducted a review of the Mid-Rise Building Performance Standards, focussing on the existing Performance Standards for Rear Transitions (5A through 5D). This focussed review of these four Performance Standards identified that providing flexibility in the rear transition of these building types to adjoining areas creates additional opportunities to further facilitate development of mid-rise buildings. Further facilitating development in a mid-rise building form will support increased housing supply in walkable, complete communities, while providing a wider range of housing options to address current housing challenges without compromising the needs of future generations.

This report summarizes the feedback received through this public and stakeholder consultation, and recommends that staff advance finalized updated Rear Transition performance standards for the Mid-rise Building Urban Design Guidelines, and a Zoning By-law Amendment with as-of-right zoning for mid-rise buildings along Avenues that implement the updated performance standards including rear transition, height and density permissions, for City Council's consideration in early Q2 of 2024.