# Small-scale retail is set to return to Toronto

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2022-06-14

city-of-toronto, land-use-policy, planning, public-meeting, shaw-st, small-scale-retail, urbanism, zoning, zoning-bylaw-amendment

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Progress is happening slowly but surely.

Over the years we have spoken a few times about [this nice little coffee shop on Shaw Street](https://brandondonnelly.com/2020/12/13/building-cool-things-is-not-as-easy-as-it-may-seem/) here in Toronto. It is a good looking and widely visited coffee shop that has made many guest appearances on urbanist Twitter.

The problem, though, is that it was a real battle to get it approved, [thanks to the opposition of a single neighbor](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/architecture/a-toronto-home-at-the-hub-of-the-community/article7769706/). That's all it takes to hold up a new project. In this case it was a coffee shop. But it could also be thousands of new homes.

But that was then. Today if you look on the City of Toronto's website you'll actually see [this exact coffee shop on a page](https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/planning-studies-initiatives/local-neighbourhood-retail-and-services/) that speaks to the benefits and the historic role of small-scale retail, service, and office uses.

Right now these uses are only permitted in low-rise neighborhoods on major streets and through an amendment to the Zoning By-Law (unless the nonconforming use already exists). This is a lot of unnecessary work (see above) and it has translated into a steady decline in these sorts of uses across the city.

Thankfully, the city is now looking to change this and permit these uses on an as-of-right basis. So it looks like the good fight was worth it.

For more info, head [over here](https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/planning-studies-initiatives/local-neighbourhood-retail-and-services/). And if you'd like to attend the public meeting to talk about how brilliant this is, you can do that on July 5 over at City Hall.

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/small-scale-retail-is-set-to-return-to-toronto)*