Against the Toronto skyline, a construction crane sits on top of condominiums being built at the corner of Sherbourne St. and Front St. East in January, 2025.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
It took many years of effort for Toronto’s local politicians to pass legal changes making it easier for developers to build something other than single-family homes. This means neighbourhoods will change. They’re supposed to.
But a two-part roadblock still lurks for many projects: there is a mess of decades-old rules that has not been updated, and these can be wielded by unelected members of municipal review bodies to thwart the pro-housing intent of council. A ruling earlier this year by one of these bodies showed how damaging this can be.
Changing rules to allow more density has been contentious in cities across Canada, and even hard-won democratic change can be undone.
Just last week, north of Toronto, Markham mayor Frank Scarpitti used special powers granted to him by the province to override a council vote to allow four housing units on properties city wide.
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Still, in theory anyway, the debate in Canada’s biggest city should be over. But even though councillors have voted repeatedly to approve buildings with four, six or more housing units, they didn’t do away with a mish-mash of rules that can make such buildings difficult. These predate the 1998 amalgamation and different ones apply in different parts of the city.
They are not a theoretical problem. Such rules opened the door for a six-storey housing proposal in the east end being rejected. This will be appealed this summer, adding time and expense to a project that would house dozens of people.
The 10-apartment project would have larger units, which are just what the city says it wants. And the building’s height and density fit the intent of the city’s new zoning. It would be on the kind of street designated for such buildings.
However, it needed small exemptions from the planning rules to allow for better layout and to maximize the site. For example, moving the building three metres closer to the road and making it 1.5 metres longer than is allowed.
Blair Scorgie, the planning consultant on the project, notes that some of the rules date from before Scarborough became part of Toronto.
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Because these rules were never deleted, the project had to go to what’s called the Committee of Adjustment for permission to ignore them. And that’s where things went wrong. Members of the committee soon began asking questions and making comments that were irrelevant.
The chair of the committee chimed in to opine that the property wouldn’t fit in with the character of the area.
Another member said that she supported density, but not this project. She noted that even though city council had voted in favour of this type of housing, “thankfully, I’m not part of the city, I am an independent committee member.”
It’s disturbing to hear an appointee proudly touting their ability to go against the democratic will.
A third committee member, although acknowledging that Toronto does not require parking in new developments, criticized the project for having only a single parking spot.
To be clear, none of this is their job. They had to determine whether the requested zoning exemptions met a specific test. That’s all. Instead, they channeled the NIMBY playbook to criticize the project, and then rejected it.
Adding to the absurdity of the situation, the local councillor – who had voted in favour of just this sort of project on just this sort of street – wrote a letter of opposition.
“Many residents chose to live here with the expectation of a quiet, stable neighbourhood,” Parthi Kandavel wrote. He warned that the building could provoke more development, construction that “risks eroding the established character that residents value and rely on.”
It is frustrating that these old arguments about density continue to circulate. It’s not reasonable to live in a growing city and believe your neighbourhood will never change. Toronto’s council-approved zoning updates were deliberately aimed at allowing denser housing. These buildings will, by design, lead to neighbourhood evolution.
With mounting evidence that the zoning changes were not enough, removing the old rules that get in the way should be a priority for council. As should serious reform of the Committees of Adjustment.
The city needs to clear house when the members’ terms end this fall. And impress on new applicants that they must look at projects through the lens of council priorities, not their own prejudices.