# New political support for laneway housing

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2016-11-16

accessory-dwelling-unit, affordable-housing, dadu, housing, housing-affordability, housing-supply, laneway-housing, toronto, uncategorized, urbanism

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There’s some [great news](https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2016/11/14/toronto-councillors-push-to-allow-laneway-housing.html) in the Toronto Star this week. (Thank you Mike for bringing this to my attention.) 

Two councillors – [Mary-Margaret McMahon](https://twitter.com/mary_margaret32) and [Ana Bailao](https://twitter.com/anabailaoto) – have come out in support of allowing laneway housing in Toronto. Some cities call them detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs). 

If you’re new to laneway housing, check out [this post](http://brandondonnelly.com/post/102805630828/why-its-next-to-impossible-to-get-a-laneway-house) and [this post](http://brandondonnelly.com/post/109296352978/3-stages-of-intensification) (both are 2+ years old). I’ve been on this horse for over a decade.  

Because going beyond their small space cool factor, laneway housing has the potential to fundamentally alter the housing supply constraint that I wrote about a few weeks ago – namely [the yellowbelt](http://brandondonnelly.com/post/152616141303/the-yellowbelt). It’s a way to gently allow for new housing, while at the same time preserving the character of our “stable” neighborhoods. 

And frankly, I can’t think of any other way to add new ground related housing at any sort of meaningful scale within the city limits – not unless we’re willing to give up the “stability” of our neighborhoods. So this is it.

If you’re on the same page, I would encourage you to reach out to Councillor McMahon and Bailao and let them know that. There’s also a [public workshop](https://twitter.com/IdeasForWard30/status/798636158544711681) scheduled for Monday, December 5th at 7pm at the Evergreen Brick Works (550 Bayview Avenue).

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/new-political-support-for-laneway-housing)*