09-19-2022, 09:56 AM
(09-19-2022, 03:22 AM)danbrotherston Wrote:(09-18-2022, 09:53 PM)tomh009 Wrote: 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.
I think you are specifically saying that condo developers don't want it. Because suburban/subdivision would actually gain flexibility from this.
I'm also not sure that three- and four-storey buildings would provide real and substantial competition for high-rise condo buildings, but it's certainly possible that those developers fear that they would.