With laneway suites permitted as-of-right across the entirety of Toronto, the City is now looking to other forms of accessory dwelling units and other ways to increase the supply of rental housing. The next frontier is likely to be something that the City is broadly referring to as garden suites. And the timing is likely to be as early as next summer. Here's how they're defining it (taken from this recent report):

Garden Suites are sometimes referred to by other names, such as “coach houses”, “tiny
homes”, and even “granny flats”. However they are all effectively the same idea – a
detached accessory dwelling unit generally located in the rear yard of a detached
house, semi-detached house, townhouse, or other low-rise dwelling. It is generally
smaller in scale, functioning as a separate rental housing unit. Garden Suites are similar
in form and function to Laneway Suites, which are currently permitted across the City in
all low-rise residential zones in the city-wide Zoning By-law, 569-2013. To avoid any
confusion between these terms, the City is considering all types of detached-accessory dwelling-unit to be a Garden Suite, for the purpose of this review, with the exception of a
Laneway Suite, which is already permitted and defined within the Zoning By-law.

The above report will be going to Planning and Housing Committee on December 8, 2020. The goals are to kickstart the public consultation process and to come up with the necessary recommendations to permit garden suites by the second quarter of 2021. Like laneway suites, they are expected to be as-of-right. That means straight to building permit. No variances (and contentious Committee of Adjustment meetings) required.

This is great news and I'm looking forward to seeing garden suites become a reality in 2021. For more information about what's happening on December 8th, click here.

I posted the following image to Twitter this morning:

It’s a map of some of the people who support my proposed laneway house (in midtown Toronto) and have signed their name at lanewaylove.com.

To me, this is an incredible demonstration of the kind of broad-based support that exists in this city today for laneway housing/suites.

I met with some of my neighbors last week to discuss the proposal and one of them said to me: “I can tell that you’re genuinely passionate about this idea.” 

My response: “You’re absolutely right. I am. This is not just about my singular project or the money. This is about something much bigger for the city.”

Clearly, many others see that as well. 

I know that there’s been a lot of laneway talk on the blog over the past few weeks and months. It’s been on my mind as I prepare for my project’s hearing next month.

For those of you who have no interest in laneway housing/accessory dwelling units, rest assured that the laneway content should subside (a little) after the summer.

With laneway suites permitted as-of-right across the entirety of Toronto, the City is now looking to other forms of accessory dwelling units and other ways to increase the supply of rental housing. The next frontier is likely to be something that the City is broadly referring to as garden suites. And the timing is likely to be as early as next summer. Here's how they're defining it (taken from this recent report):

Garden Suites are sometimes referred to by other names, such as “coach houses”, “tiny
homes”, and even “granny flats”. However they are all effectively the same idea – a
detached accessory dwelling unit generally located in the rear yard of a detached
house, semi-detached house, townhouse, or other low-rise dwelling. It is generally
smaller in scale, functioning as a separate rental housing unit. Garden Suites are similar
in form and function to Laneway Suites, which are currently permitted across the City in
all low-rise residential zones in the city-wide Zoning By-law, 569-2013. To avoid any
confusion between these terms, the City is considering all types of detached-accessory dwelling-unit to be a Garden Suite, for the purpose of this review, with the exception of a
Laneway Suite, which is already permitted and defined within the Zoning By-law.

The above report will be going to Planning and Housing Committee on December 8, 2020. The goals are to kickstart the public consultation process and to come up with the necessary recommendations to permit garden suites by the second quarter of 2021. Like laneway suites, they are expected to be as-of-right. That means straight to building permit. No variances (and contentious Committee of Adjustment meetings) required.

This is great news and I'm looking forward to seeing garden suites become a reality in 2021. For more information about what's happening on December 8th, click here.

I posted the following image to Twitter this morning:

It’s a map of some of the people who support my proposed laneway house (in midtown Toronto) and have signed their name at lanewaylove.com.

To me, this is an incredible demonstration of the kind of broad-based support that exists in this city today for laneway housing/suites.

I met with some of my neighbors last week to discuss the proposal and one of them said to me: “I can tell that you’re genuinely passionate about this idea.” 

My response: “You’re absolutely right. I am. This is not just about my singular project or the money. This is about something much bigger for the city.”

Clearly, many others see that as well. 

I know that there’s been a lot of laneway talk on the blog over the past few weeks and months. It’s been on my mind as I prepare for my project’s hearing next month.

For those of you who have no interest in laneway housing/accessory dwelling units, rest assured that the laneway content should subside (a little) after the summer.