09-19-2022, 03:22 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-19-2022, 03:22 AM by danbrotherston.)
(09-18-2022, 09:53 PM)tomh009 Wrote:(09-18-2022, 09:41 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: Step 1 is, stop digging: eliminate all parking minima, allow apartment buildings up to 4 stories in all residential zones, and allow office and residential above all retail units. Then see how much of a problem there still is.
This would be a very good start. The problem is that redoing all the zoning (required for the above) would be highly contentious and time-consuming effort for every city.
What I think could work is provincial (note, Federal cannot work as municipalities are figments of the provincial imagination) legislation to allow construction of low-rise multi-residential in any location permitting residential use (maybe allow granny flats everywhere while they are at this). And disallowing use of parking minima and to allow residential on the upper floors of any building that has commercial zoning.
There would likely still be a hue and cry, but Ford has a majority, and the next election is far away, so he could get away with it.
The thing is, if developers wanted this, Ford would do it. But developers don't want it.
The thing that allowing smaller scale developments does is lowers the barrier of entry to being a developer. If I have to be able to raise 100MM to build a 20 storey tower, there's only a few competitors, if I only have to raise 5MM to build a small scale 3 storey building, pretty much any homeowner (with no mortgage) in the city could do that.
So, developers (the ones that are developing buildings today) don't want this...because it would cause them more competition.
Or at least that's my speculation, given that Ford would pretty much do anything developers ask for.
Oh, and yes, I am absolutely saying that zoning restrictions are contributing to the concentration of wealth and the monopolization of the development market. That's what legislation usually does...it's why Conservatives pretend to oppose it, but in practice tend to support it.