Item - 2024.PH16.12

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council receive the report (October 21, 2024) from the Interim Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning titled “City Comments on Proposed amendment to Ontario Regulation 299/19 Additional Residential Units, made under the Planning Act”, and Attachment 1, letter to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for information.

On September 23, 2024, the Province introduced a proposed amendment to Ontario Regulation 299/19 Additional Residential Units (ARUs), made under the Planning Act on the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) (https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-9210). The Province provided stakeholders 30 days to review and provide comments on the proposed regulation, with comments due by October 23, 2024. The Chief Planner has submitted a letter with staff comments on the proposed regulation to the Environmental Registry of Ontario by the commenting deadline. In May 2024, City Council adopted comments in response to the Minister’s Regulation Making Authority proposed in ERO 019-8369 (Bill 185, Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024), to establish requirements and standards for Additional Residential Units. The City commented that regulations related to individual units rest with Municipalities, with the direction to make changes in contextually appropriate manners. This continues to be the City of Toronto’s comment, and as it relates to ERO 019-9210, proposed amendment to Ontario Regulation 299/19 Additional Residential Units, made under the Planning Act.

The proposed changes to Ontario Regulation 299/19 Additional Residential Units, recommends overriding five performance standards in municipal zoning by-laws with the intention of increasing the uptake Additional Residential Units. Additional Residential Units include secondary suites, laneway and garden suites, and multiplexes. The proposed changes include the removal of required angular planes, increased maximum lot coverage, removal of floor space index (FSI), removal of required minimum lot size, and reduction in minimum building separation distances between the main residential building and an ancillary building containing an Additional Residential Unit.

Since 2018, Council has adopted zoning regulations for Additional Residential Units to effectively introduce laneway and garden suites, secondary suites, and multi-plexes while balancing impacts on privacy, access to sunlight, stormwater run off, soft landscaping, tree canopy and biodiversity. This report provides a high-level summary and discussion of the proposed amendment to Ontario Regulation 299/19 changes and potential impacts on the City’s of Toronto’s implementation of Additional Residential Units.

In May 2024, City Council adopted comments in response to Minister’s Regulation Making Authority ERO 019-8369 (Bill 185, Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024), which granted the Minister the authority to make regulations establishing requirements and standards for Additional Residential Units. The City commented that regulations related to individual units rest with Municipalities, with the direction to make changes in contextually appropriate manners.