Decade-long Appeal Reaches its Conclusion

After nearly a decade, the OAA is please to inform members that the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) has released its final order regarding amendments to the residential provisions of the Toronto Citywide Zoning Bylaw 569-2013.

Importantly, amendments regarding height calculations that the OAA advanced are included in the OLT’s order, which allows houses with flat roofs to be more than 2.5 meters lower than peaked roofs, as long as the additional height is set back. As the order notes, “…“additional main walls are permitted to be located above the maximum height of all main walls permitted in (A) above, provided all the additional front main walls and rear main walls located above the main walls permitted in (A) above are set back a minimum of 1.4 metres from the front main walls.”

To read the OLT’s final order, click here. 

In 2013, the City of Toronto introduced Bylaw 569-2013, the Harmonized Zoning Bylaw, which included significant changes to zoning across Toronto. Most notable among these changes was a decrease in allowable height limits of single-family houses that resulted from a change in the way height is calculated. This change would affect OAA members working on redevelopment and infill housing projects across the yellow zone of Toronto, and would mean a lot more projects going to the Committee of Adjustment.

Since the bylaw was first proposed, a small group of architects have been doing a lot of work to ensure their concerns were being heard. When they felt the City did not take their concerns into account, they approached the OAA for support. Council determined this issue is in the public interest, and pointed out other municipalities in Ontario often look to Toronto for guidance.

The case was first heard at the then Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) over a five-day period in 2017. It was jointly presented on behalf of the OAA, the Conservatory Group, and Stan Makow Architects. When the ruling was handed down in March 2018, it was found that the City had improperly decreased heights. The OMB member determined this decrease was not in accordance with the Official Plan, as it would mean that the character of neighbourhoods could not be maintained. The OMB suggested all parties come to a resolution.

Although there was considerable common ground around the required changes, there was also some contention. Though this was a lengthy process, the outcome is one that will benefit all of Toronto and the province at large, especially as government’s focus increasingly shifts to intensification in already-developed areas as one proposed solution to the housing affordability crisis.