Item - 2024.PH9.5

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1. Endorsed the contents of the report (January 12, 2024) from the Interim Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning as the basis for public consultation.

2. Directed City Planning staff to undertake public consultation on the proposed zoning by-law amendments.

3. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to prepare a Final Recommendations Report and Zoning By-law Amendments for Toronto and East York District in the third quarter of 2024, followed by the additional districts in 2025.

4. Directed the Interim Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report on low-rise residential lands in the Dorset Park Community By-law 9508/Ward 21 with an official plan conflict and its exclusions to garden suites and non-inclusion to By-law 569-2013 to enable the full suite of housing permissions under the City-wide Zoning by-law.

This report presents a draft zoning framework to bring low-rise residential lands into Zoning By-law 569-2013 ('the City-wide Zoning By-law') that were excluded from the City-wide Zoning By-law as part of the transition protocol in 2012. The transition protocol left lands in the former municipal zoning by-laws from incorporation into the City-wide Zoning By-law for various reasons. The proposed zoning framework is part of the on-going work to simplify the zoning by-law and recommends bringing in lands into the City-wide Zoning By-law that had active site plan or zoning by-law amendment applications in 2012, but which have since been approved and the file has been closed.

Staff recommend bringing low-rise residential lands into the City-wide Zoning by-law with zoning standards that are consistent with the applicable former municipal zoning by-law and in conformity with the Official Plan. This is part of the work to simplify and modernize the Zoning By-law for low-rise residential zones. Bringing these lands into the City-wide Zoning By-law seeks to remove barriers, ease administration, and enable the creation of more housing as part of the Housing Action Plan to achieve or exceed the provincial housing target of 285,000 new homes over the next 10 years. This will also ensure the consistent and equitable application of important city-building initiatives such as recent housing regulations for missing middle housing and the removal of parking minimums.

The draft zoning framework report proposes to bring approximately 1,500 parcels into the City-wide Zoning By-law on a district-based approach. Bringing these lands into the by-law will enable the full range of missing middle housing permissions (e.g., laneway suites, garden suites and multiplexes) and the new parking regime in low-rise residential zones. The proposed changes will form the basis for public consultation in 2024.