One of the really positive things that is happening in the world of Toronto land use planning is that the minimum scale of development that is permitted as-of-right continues to grow. We've gone from fourplexes to 6-storey apartments, and now we're talking about mid-rise buildings (6-11 storeys) and even some tall buildings (12 storeys or more).

What this ultimately means is being able to build without a rezoning application. That means no site specific negotiation, and no fighting over whether the building should be 32 meters tall or 30.5 meters tall with a 2.4 meter stepback because of shadowing concerns on someone's heritage-designated garden gnome. It means getting under construction sooner.

Here are some of the specific ideas being reviewed:

• Expand the number of streets designated as "Avenues" throughout Toronto (Avenues are a defined term and where we have decided that mid-rise buildings should go)

• New Official Plan policies that would encourage more mid-rise buildings on Avenues

• Eliminate the rear angular plane requirement (currently a mid-rise performance standard); this is expected to produce ~30% more homes in your typical mid-rise development

• Increase as-of-right permitted heights to 6-11 storeys (the city estimates that this will unlock ~61,000 additional homes)

• Introduce "transition zones" between Avenues and low-rise neighborhoods, which could then accommodate things like low-rise towns and apartments up to 4 storeys (it's worth noting that transition zones were initially part of Toronto's mid-rise performance standards but then got removed for some reason)

This is meaningful progress. Let's enact and keep going.

This is an interesting article about the neighborhood-based social network, Nextdoor, and how it has become a tool for housing politics:

Overall, activists both for and against more housing regard Nextdoor as an increasingly influential and even critical tool in the fight, which conflicts with the platform’s marketing as a friendly, kinder social media. Rather than being the neighborhood bulletin board, Nextdoors around the country are looking more like the local zoning commission hearing.

Housing debate is no stranger to social media, but in the case of Nextdoor, the audience gets focused down to the scale of a neighborhood. And that clearly changes things.

For the full article, click here.

One of the really positive things that is happening in the world of Toronto land use planning is that the minimum scale of development that is permitted as-of-right continues to grow. We've gone from fourplexes to 6-storey apartments, and now we're talking about mid-rise buildings (6-11 storeys) and even some tall buildings (12 storeys or more).

What this ultimately means is being able to build without a rezoning application. That means no site specific negotiation, and no fighting over whether the building should be 32 meters tall or 30.5 meters tall with a 2.4 meter stepback because of shadowing concerns on someone's heritage-designated garden gnome. It means getting under construction sooner.

Here are some of the specific ideas being reviewed:

• Expand the number of streets designated as "Avenues" throughout Toronto (Avenues are a defined term and where we have decided that mid-rise buildings should go)

• New Official Plan policies that would encourage more mid-rise buildings on Avenues

• Eliminate the rear angular plane requirement (currently a mid-rise performance standard); this is expected to produce ~30% more homes in your typical mid-rise development

• Increase as-of-right permitted heights to 6-11 storeys (the city estimates that this will unlock ~61,000 additional homes)

• Introduce "transition zones" between Avenues and low-rise neighborhoods, which could then accommodate things like low-rise towns and apartments up to 4 storeys (it's worth noting that transition zones were initially part of Toronto's mid-rise performance standards but then got removed for some reason)

This is meaningful progress. Let's enact and keep going.

This is an interesting article about the neighborhood-based social network, Nextdoor, and how it has become a tool for housing politics:

Overall, activists both for and against more housing regard Nextdoor as an increasingly influential and even critical tool in the fight, which conflicts with the platform’s marketing as a friendly, kinder social media. Rather than being the neighborhood bulletin board, Nextdoors around the country are looking more like the local zoning commission hearing.

Housing debate is no stranger to social media, but in the case of Nextdoor, the audience gets focused down to the scale of a neighborhood. And that clearly changes things.

For the full article, click here.