Following yesterday's post on small-scale apartments, a number of people commented on the 6m front yard setback that was shown on the city's drawings and that I mentioned in my post. Well, it turns out that I wasn't entirely correct about the 6m. What is proposed in the draft zoning by-law is the following:

The modelling has illustrated building setbacks that are appropriate for townhouse developments and small-scale apartment buildings on major streets in a Neighbourhoods context. Based on the review, Urban Design staff recommend that the front yard setback be implemented through use of the average of the existing neighbouring setbacks, or a minimum of 3 meters, whichever is greater. This approach maintains consistency with the existing character of the Neighbourhoods supports protection of existing mature trees.

As you might expect, the approach with these small-scale apartments is to be mindful of the existing low-rise context. But as many of you rightly pointed out when you saw the 6m, the existing context may not be appropriate or ideal for the planned context, especially if there's retail at grade.

This is just one of the many details that we'll need to be careful with as this initiative moves forward.

Last week, the Canadian federal government announced that it will be developing a catalog of pre-approved housing designs in order to accelerate the delivery of new homes.

This is not a new idea. A similar approach was taken after the Second World War in order to quickly house veterans returning home. But in this current iteration, the catalog is expected to be focused on missing middle housing such as small multiplexes and student housing, and then later on higher-density construction.

We have also spoken about this idea before in the context of ADUs in Los Angeles. And at that time, I wrote that the way to encourage more of something is to reduce friction. I continue to believe that this is the case, and so I do think that pre-approved designs are a positive thing, especially for smaller projects.

However, it's important to keep in mind that this is not the biggest barrier to new housing supply. The problem is not that developers and builders are all sitting around thinking "if only I had a design for a 5-unit multiplex." The problem is that they're sitting around thinking "if only I could make some money building a 5-unit multiplex."

So while reducing the barriers to entry is a good thing, the really important question for the designs in this upcoming catalog is: Can developers actually make any money building them? Because if the answer is no, it doesn't matter that they're pre-approved and ready to go. They won't be built.

Hopefully somebody is thinking about this because it will take some work. Every market is different. What works in one place, may not work in another. On top of this, what works today, may not work tomorrow.

Following yesterday's post on small-scale apartments, a number of people commented on the 6m front yard setback that was shown on the city's drawings and that I mentioned in my post. Well, it turns out that I wasn't entirely correct about the 6m. What is proposed in the draft zoning by-law is the following:

The modelling has illustrated building setbacks that are appropriate for townhouse developments and small-scale apartment buildings on major streets in a Neighbourhoods context. Based on the review, Urban Design staff recommend that the front yard setback be implemented through use of the average of the existing neighbouring setbacks, or a minimum of 3 meters, whichever is greater. This approach maintains consistency with the existing character of the Neighbourhoods supports protection of existing mature trees.

As you might expect, the approach with these small-scale apartments is to be mindful of the existing low-rise context. But as many of you rightly pointed out when you saw the 6m, the existing context may not be appropriate or ideal for the planned context, especially if there's retail at grade.

This is just one of the many details that we'll need to be careful with as this initiative moves forward.

Last week, the Canadian federal government announced that it will be developing a catalog of pre-approved housing designs in order to accelerate the delivery of new homes.

This is not a new idea. A similar approach was taken after the Second World War in order to quickly house veterans returning home. But in this current iteration, the catalog is expected to be focused on missing middle housing such as small multiplexes and student housing, and then later on higher-density construction.

We have also spoken about this idea before in the context of ADUs in Los Angeles. And at that time, I wrote that the way to encourage more of something is to reduce friction. I continue to believe that this is the case, and so I do think that pre-approved designs are a positive thing, especially for smaller projects.

However, it's important to keep in mind that this is not the biggest barrier to new housing supply. The problem is not that developers and builders are all sitting around thinking "if only I had a design for a 5-unit multiplex." The problem is that they're sitting around thinking "if only I could make some money building a 5-unit multiplex."

So while reducing the barriers to entry is a good thing, the really important question for the designs in this upcoming catalog is: Can developers actually make any money building them? Because if the answer is no, it doesn't matter that they're pre-approved and ready to go. They won't be built.

Hopefully somebody is thinking about this because it will take some work. Every market is different. What works in one place, may not work in another. On top of this, what works today, may not work tomorrow.