The city’s zoning bylaw is being changed to streamline more affordable housing options throughout Barrie, along with tightening regulations on detached accessory dwellings.
Planning committee members gave initial approval to the changes Tuesday night. They will be considered for final approval at the Oct. 4 city council meeting.
“I’m sure we will hear after tonight that there are some neighbourhoods that have been affected that think this doesn’t go far enough,” Mayor Jeff Lehman said. “I’m sure we will hear from some builders that it goes too far.
“The over-arching goal here is to increase the supply of housing in the city of Barrie, by allowing appropriate infill development. It doesn’t create thousands of units, but it does create dozens,” he added. “It may take time to get them right. Ultimately, they are to help to address the housing crisis in Barrie.”
The changes are intended to address barriers to housing affordability, clarify definitions, update development standards for second suites and detached accessory dwellings, and improve implementation of the bylaw to support affordable housing initiatives.
This includes making it easier to build more affordable housing options by permitting smaller units, making it easier to create additional dwelling units in existing multi-residential buildings and exploring options for mixed, institutional-residential proposals. Proposed changes would include new standards for detached accessory dwelling units, which have become an issue in some Barrie neighbourhoods.
“The original widening of permissions to allow these types of dwelling units had the best of intentions, and like many things there were some unintended consequences,” Lehman said. “And like many things, some investors found ways to use the maximum permissions available to construct some buildings that weren’t in character with our existing neighbourhoods.
“We’ve all heard about the flash points and the difficulty that some of the neighbours of those buildings have really been through as those investors sought to frankly exploit what was intended to be an affordable housing measure.”
Planning staff say detached accessory dwelling units are an important housing option and that the intention of the proposed changes to development standards is not intended to make it more difficult to construct this type of dwelling unit, but rather ensure they are built in a way that is sensitive to established neighbourhoods and representative of good land-use planning principles.
These changes are to clarify that a maximum of one detached accessory dwelling unit, containing one dwelling unit, is permitted per lot as an accessory use to a single-detached dwelling, a duplex dwelling, a semi-detached dwelling unit and a street townhouse. They would also establish a maximum unit size equal to 45 per cent of the total gross floor area of the principal building, up to a maximum of 75 square metres, or 807 square feet, for detached accessory dwellings.
A provision was also to be added to ensure that the finished or unfinished habitable living space in any basement would be included in this calculation. These units would still be included in the maximum lot coverage of 10 per cent for accessory buildings and structures.
Basements get the boot
But councillors decided Tuesday night not to allow basements in detached accessory dwellings.
“This is about affordable housing and the construction of basements takes away from that affordability,” said Coun. Robert Thomson. “No one is building these (basements) out of the goodness of their hearts. They are investments.”
The changes also address the impact of detached accessory dwellings on mature trees. Residents have expressed concerns for mature trees and the importance of Barrie’s urban forest canopy, including shade, run-off retention, soil stability, and air quality. Trees also play an important role in privacy, sense of place and neighbourhood character.
Staff say tree removal is not unique to the construction of detached accessory dwellings, and that it also allows for the creation of other accessory buildings and structures, including pools and detached garages.
What’s being proposed is increasing the minimum side and rear yard setback requirements — in part to address setbacks to surrounding vegetation, and to allow more space for landscape buffers to be planted.
This was to mean a minimum three-metre wide landscaped buffer area along the abutting rear and interior side lot lines of the property, adjacent to the detached accessory dwelling unit.
But councillors decided Tuesday to increase the minimum rear-yard setback to seven metres.
“Backyards are private spaces and this gives a bit of protection there,” said Coun. Clare Riepma, referring to neighbours.
Staff are also recommending that detached accessory dwellings be subject to a scoped site-plan control review process, which will include providing information about existing on-site and surrounding landscape conditions, including trees. A tree-removal permit is only required where a tree is part of a continuous woodlot, and ultimately, tree protection would be best addressed through a tree protection bylaw under the Municipal Act, not the zoning bylaw or site-plan control bylaw, according to staff.
A scoped site-plan control process for all detached accessory dwellings would also help inform neighbours of plans for the property. Detached accessory dwellings are as of right permissions in the zoning bylaw and there is no opportunity for neighbours to object to their construction, as there is no requirement to provide notice to neighbours prior to a building permit being issued.
Through the proposed scoped site-plan control review and approval process, a sign could be required to be posted on the property to notify neighbours of any development plans.
The changes also address height requirements for detached accessory dwelling units, privacy and two-storey buildings. They are a concern based on their potential height, impact on privacy and that the garage below could become illegal living space. The permissions, and standards for two-storey units have therefore been removed.
Second-suite restrictions
Proposed size restrictions on second suites are also addressed, how the maximum unit size would be calculated for a second suite — an additional residential dwelling unit located within the primary dwelling. The proposed regulations cap the maximum unit size at 45 per cent of the entire principal building (not just the primary dwelling unit) or all of the basement of a single-storey dwelling.
A provision has also been added to ensure that the finished or unfinished habitable living space in any basement will be included in this calculation.
The report planning committee considered Tuesday night also addresses other concerns by residents.
Parking standards and the availability of parking on site, for example, are a requirement and the zoning bylaw requires a minimum of one parking space for a second suite and for a detached accessory dwelling unit. While some streets do not permit on-street parking, many streets do and it is not a zoning violation, although a parking space on the street would not be counted in the required parking.
During winter months, when there is no overnight parking on the streets, residents are expected to make other parking arrangements, in driveways and garages, as front yard parking is not permitted.
Also addressed is the infrastructure demand of second suites and detached accessory dwelling units, especially in older neighbourhoods. Staff say additional dwelling units within existing homes do not pose significant concerns to water and wastewater infrastructure capacity. Detached accessory dwelling units are required to be hooked up to full municipal services, and any upgrades required to the service laterals are the responsibility of the property owner.
As for absentee landlords and owner occupation requirements for second suites and detached accessory dwelling units, the city cannot require owners to live on the property, as per Ontario Regulation 299/19 under the Planning Act. A pilot project in Ward 1 requiring licensing for absentee landlords is currently underway.
Councillors also looked at parking, licensing accessory dwelling units throughout Barrie and minimum separation distances between these buildings on Tuesday.
Riepma had suggested 300 metres, but later withdrew his amendment.
“We have separation distances for BLRs (boarding, lodging and rooming houses) and for tattoo parlours,” he said. “You could have one of them built behind every house on every street. I don’t think that is permission we want to give.”
As part of Bill 108, the More Homes, More Choice Act of 2019, the province amended the Planning Act to require that Official Plans permit three housing units on one lot — a main dwelling with a second suite and a detached accessory suite.
In November of the same year, Barrie city council amended its zoning bylaw to make it easier to build a second suite and provide other forms of affordable housing — permitting both a second suite and a detached accessory dwelling unit in nine residential zones.
Providing more as-of-right permissions in the zoning bylaw for affordable units is intended to provide greater project certainty for housing providers, make it easier to secure funding, and reduce approval times – all of which both directly and indirectly impact the cost and feasibility of building affordable housing.
The city’s most recent affordable housing monitoring report notes there has been considerable uptake in the construction of second suites in Barrie, but the affordability of these units is declining, both in the short and long term. In 2020, for example, only 25 per cent of new second suites were assumed to be rented at an affordable rate, compared to 70 per cent in 2018 and 2019, and 90 per cent in 2017.
City staffers have also noted a growing interest in the construction of detached accessory dwelling units, as well as concerns from residents regarding their size, placement on the property and impacts on neighbouring properties.
The city defines affordable rental housing as a unit for which the rent doesn’t exceed 30 per cent of the gross annual household income for low- to moderate-income households. That income is based upon the most recent Canada Census statistics for Barrie, which is updated every five years.
Affordable housing is a range of housing types allowing families and individuals, of all income levels, to find suitable places to live without spending a disproportionate percentage of their income on housing. Affordable housing can include ownership, rental or subsidized housing.
