Population and Housing

[ijmorlan]

I think you raise some good points. I should point out, however, that fixing the midrise infill issue is mostly a matter of liberalizing zoning: allow everything up to 3-story apartment buildings in all zones, and eliminate the distinction between detached/semi/townhouses/stack townhouses/maisonettes/duplexes/triplexes/whatever other words planners use. Also allow residential in commercial (most likely, apartments above retail, but unlike typical planners I don’t pretend to know what everybody will need) and allow 6-story buildings in all commercial zones. Allow neighbouring properties to waive setbacks without input from other properties and eliminate all parking minima. That’s for a start, just off the top of my head.

Then the NIMBY problem is gone because all the midrise can be built without going to Council to adjust the rules.

The biggest objection from the planning department would probably be the job loss owing to nothing to do.

Haha...ahh...that's cute.

I mean, the reason why zoning is restrictive is because people with power want it that way. Even if we managed to change the rules, people with power aren't going to shut up about it....and they certainly aren't going to let the lack of rules stop them from getting their way.

OK, I’m being a bit flippant, and I recognize that we’re pretty far from passing reasonable zoning reform, but right now these issues keep coming up because developers need to ask for exceptions or adjustments to the existing zoning rules. Most of the opportunity to stop a development comes from convincing Council not to approve the adjustments.

How can a development be stopped which falls entirely within zoning? For example, if I want to knock down my house and build another single-family house on the site meeting all the modern setback rules and so on, I’m pretty sure I just submit a building permit application to the City, which checks that it meets all the zoning requirements and issues the permit. Is there even any public notice before the permit is issued? The first hint the neighbours would have would be survey stakes, followed a week or two later by a backhoe showing up and digging a big hole.

If you’re saying that getting the zoning revised would be really really hard, then … you’re right!