Blanket rezoning was passed (with amendments) on a 9-6 vote earlier this year, and it is now officially in effect as of August 6th.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
- R-CG is now the citywide base low-density residential zone.
- R-G is now the base low-density residential zone in developing areas.
- H-GO zoning has been implemented in areas identified in approved Local Area Plans (mostly higher-traffic locations and community corridors)
BYLAW AMENDMENTS:
As a result of community feedback, more than 20 amendments were made to the bylaw, including:
- Measures to increase residents' ability to implement privacy measures on their properties
- Giving communities further say in what types of developments are built in their neighbourhoods
- Clarity and changes to parking minimums
- A notion to standardize townhouse and rowhouse development permits so both developers and the community have a better idea of what to expect with new developments
Many of these amendments are still vague at this point, and it is not entirely clear how all of this will unfold with the city. After all, it is easy to say you want to streamline the DP process; it is quite another to actually make this happen. What is clear, however, is that builders and developers need to be familiar with a few key changes that will impact development moving forward.
KEY CHANGES TO R-CG
The vast majority of the inner city now has a base zone of R-CG. However, the R-CG zoning bylaw has seen some significant amendments:
- Single-family semi-detached and detached homes are now both listed as permitted uses. Permitted means that, if a development meets all the rules of the land use bylaw, it must be approved.
- Rowhouses and Townhouses are now both listed as discretionary uses. Discretionary means that the development must be reviewed and weighed against several factors. Each application must be reviewed on its own merit, and there is no approval guarantee.
- Properties that do not have a Rowhouse or a Townhouse may now have BOTH a backyard suite and a secondary suite. This means that detached or semi-detached properties may now have both a basement suite AND a carriage suite or a backyard suite. This applies to both new infills and existing homes.
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
This is a significant change from the original R-CG zoning, where rowhouses were a permitted use, meaning that developers could purchase corner lots with the certainty of being able to construct 4 units with suites without concern of being blocked by the community, so long as they followed all the guidelines outlined in the R-CG Bylaw. If you wish to develop townhouses or rowhouses on a parcel zoned R-CG, you must go through the full development permit process before getting a green light from the city on your project, even on corner lots. And expect that some communities will be more vocal than others on feedback and complaints, which could make the process of approval more of a headache, or in some cases, even halt the development from proceeding without major changes to design and features, which could impact the feasibility and profitability of a project.
THE GOOD NEWS
Single-family detached and semi-detached infills are now permitted throughout the city. This means that areas previously zoned R-C1 and unsuitable for traditional infill development are now open for this type of development. Both basement suites and backyard suites are permitted, which makes for an opportunity to develop revenue properties in a less traditional format. You can view our blog article HERE on what formerly R-C1 areas we expect to start seeing infill development.
THOUGHTS AND TAKEAWAYS
Although city-wide rezoning (in theory) was supposed to drastically improve the supply of developable sites for townhome projects, which would then improve the entry-level housing stock, the reality is that zoning amendments have made townhome development less attractive under R-CG zoning.
With townhomes and rowhouses now “discretionary” uses under R-CG zoning rather than “permitted,” builders and developers aren’t nearly as likely to seek to develop townhomes on R-CG zoned parcels unless they are quite certain that the community will be in favour. Or, builders and developers may seek a rezoning on a parcel before submitting for DP to be more assured of success without community interference.
With townhomes and rowhouses now “discretionary” uses under R-CG zoning rather than “permitted,” builders and developers aren’t nearly as likely to seek to develop townhomes on R-CG zoned parcels unless they are quite certain that the community will be in favour. Or, builders and developers may seek a rezoning on a parcel before submitting for DP to be more assured of success without community interference.
Truthfully, it is still early days, and only time will tell how this all shakes out. The next few years will be interesting to watch!