Housing Update

Housekeeping:

• Clarify that the latest Provincial and Federal legislation is always referred to in the By-law.
• Change various definitions to reflect updated wording and clarify wording used in the Zoning By-law; examples include: rowhouse (in place of multiple attached), additional residential unit (in place of second unit), multiple unit dwelling (in lieu of apartment, stacked townhouse, etc.), dwelling with supports (in lieu of hospice, group home, etc.), and adding “tandem parking”. 
• Add roads and trails to the list of public utilities and services that are permitted without a rezoning.
• Delete redundant provisions that are already addressed elsewhere in the By-law

General Provisions:

• For accessory structures, standardize setbacks in a residential zone and add provisions for additional residential units in an accessory building. Housing Update to Official Plan and Zoning By-law Page 2 of 3 September 12, 2023
• For calculating MDS, all cemeteries in the Community Facility (CF) Zone considered a Type A land use (a single MDS distance) and MDS is not applied to or from the Agricultural Commercial Industrial (AG3) zone or an On Farm Diversified Use.
• Update cannabis production facility provisions.
• Update parking requirements for various residential uses to reflect revised dwelling types (such as additional residential units) and permit off-site parking for residential uses. 
• Replace second unit provisions with additional residential unit provisions and delete temporary accommodation for workers provision as it is replaced with on farm labour housing provisions in the General Agriculture (AG1) and Agricultural Commercial Industrial (AG3) zones.

Agriculture:

• Incorporate provisions to permit Additional Residential Units (ARU) in the agricultural area as follows:

1. In the General Agriculture (AG1) zone, up to 2 ARUs are permitted of which one may be a detached unit provided the detached ARU is located within 60 metres of the existing dwelling, uses the same laneway, setback the required front yard distance, and meets MDS.
2. On small agricultural holdings (AG4) an ARU is permitted in either the main dwelling or detached building provided the detached ARU is located to the rear or side of the existing dwelling, within 60 metres of the existing dwelling, uses the same laneway, and meets MDS and the AG4 main building setbacks.

• Expand permissions for on-farm accommodation for farm labour to building types other than a mobile home and increase the number of dwelling units to a maximum of 6.
• Changes to the agricultural zone used for the retained farmland from a surplus residence severance (AG2) as follows:

1. Add a cannabis production facility as a permitted use.
2. Remove seasonal worker housing as a permitted use.

• Update location requirements for buildings containing livestock and other accessory buildings on properties zoned Agricultural Small Holding (AG4).

Urban Settlement Areas:

• Require new semi-detached, duplex, and converted dwellings to be on full services. 
• Permit dwelling with supports in R1, R2 and R3 zones.
• Incorporate provisions for Additional Residential Units (ARU) in R1, R2 and R3 zones.
• Reduce front yard setback for single detached, semi-detached, and rowhouses dwellings with the main building allowed to be 1.5 metres closer to street than the attached garage. 
• Reduce the interior side yard for single detached, semi-detached, duplex, and rowhouse dwellings to 1.5 metres. 
• Increase the zone coverage for all structures for a single detached dwelling to 45% with the main building capped at 40% coverage.
• Triplex dwellings are permitted in the R1 zone with a reduced side yard. 
• Remove maximums for number of rowhouse buildings and rowhouse units per building. 
• Permit multiple unit dwellings with a maximum height of 3 storeys in the R2 zone. 
• Reducing the minimum outdoor communal amenity area for multiple unit buildings to 100 square metres. 
• Recognize semi-detached, duplex, triplex, quadruplex, rowhouse, and multiple unit dwellings that are further subdivided as complying with their respective zone provisions.
• Require all residential uses to be subject to the Sewage Treatment Facility Buffer Overlay. 
• Create a RG1 (Residential Greenfield) zone for undeveloped residential areas and require a minimum density of 15 main dwelling units per hectare.
• Create a RG1-1 (Residential Greenfield – Special Zone) zone within the RG1 zone for undeveloped residential areas abutting R1 and R2 zoned properties. 
• Clarify that the applicable zone provisions for standalone residential buildings in the C5 (Mixed Commercial Zone) are those found in the R2 and R3 zones.
• Increase the minimum main building height in the C5 zone to 2 storeys to match the C4 (Core Commercial) zone requirement.
• Add microbrewery to the M1 (Light Industrial) zone, brewery to the M2 (General Industrial) zone, and cannabis production facility to both industrial zones.

Natural Environment:

• Reduce the maximum ground floor area of accessory buildings in the Natural Environment (NE1) zone to 50 square metres.