Draft 2: Issues for Consultation

Draft 2 of the new Zoning By-law and the related staff report were received by Council on Wednesday, April 16. At this meeting, several motions and directions were brought forward to direct staff to consult on various items over the spring and summer, ahead of the final draft of the Zoning By-law to be released in September.

Five key issues were identified during public consultation on the Draft 1 Zoning By-law provisions during 2024. The Draft 2 staff report provides potential options for these key issues:

  1. Minimum parking rates in Villages

    Draft 2 continues to require no minimum parking rates citywide. However, in Villages where personal vehicle use is more common due to limited transportation alternatives, staff have provided three potential options to introduce minimum parking requirements.

  2. Maximum building height in Suburban N1 and N2 – Neighbourhood Zones

    In Draft 1, R1 and R2 – Residential Zones were converted to N1 and N2 – Neighbourhood Zones. Building heights in N1 and N2 zones were proposed to be limited to 8.5 metres (2 storeys) citywide in Draft 1. However, R1 and R2 Zones in the Suburban Transect currently permit maximum heights of 11 metres (3 storeys). Limiting height to 8.5 metres in N1 and N2 Zones would reduce development potential from what is now permitted. Staff have presented three options to regulate N1 and N2 maximum building heights.

  3. Conversion of the R4 – Residential Zone to N4 – Neighbourhood Zone

    Draft 1 of the new Zoning By-law converted R4 to N4, with a maximum permitted height of 14.5 metres (four storeys) and no limit on maximum density. Certain R4 subzones currently limit building height to 11 metres (3 storeys) and maximum densities to four, eight, or 12 units, which is closer to the proposed N3 zoning provisions than N4. In these instances, moving to the N4 zone potentially represents a notable increase in density/height, especially considering many Inner Urban R4 subzones received greater height/density permissions in 2020 through the R4 Zoning Review and amendment. Staff have provided two options to address this issue.

  4. Building height transition framework

    Draft 2 contains an updated building height transition framework to regulate the heights of buildings in mixed-use zones abutting low-rise residential areas. Staff have developed three potential options for ensuring appropriate transition between high-rise development and low-rise neighbourhoods.

  5. Communal parking lot permissions in Neighbourhood (N1-N6) Zones

    Communal parking lots in Neighbourhood Zones were permitted in Draft 1, but only within a Planned Unit Development (PUD), which is a development with more than one residential building on a lot. Both the public and Council members showed an interest in expanding these permissions, so staff have prepared four options for communal parking, which could be used in combination.

Document 3 of the staff report goes into further detail on each issue and the potential options for implementation in the final draft of the new Zoning By-law.

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