Zoning Reform Ideas

[Sauga89]

Mississauga city staff are recommending that the city relax its angular plane policy, and also reduce the amenity space requirements for apartment buildings.

Mississauga city council are set to consider the staff's report on February 23rd.

Here is a diagram from the report on the changes to the angular plane rule for apartments in urban areas.

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For the amenity space requirements, staff are not recommending abolishing the requirements, but rather reducing them, to 3.0 m2 per unit. Currently, Mississauga has two classes of apartment zonings. Regular apartments have to provide an area equivalent to either 10% of the site area or 5.6 m2 per unit, depending on which is greater. Apartments in designated urban growth areas have to provide 4.5 m2 of amenity space per unit. Both classes of apartments will now have the same 3.0 m2 per dwelling requirement.

Existing apartments will be able to apply to the Committee of Adjustment if they wish to convert some of their amenity space to other uses.

Other proposed changes include reducing the minimum separation required between towers to 25 metres from 30 metres, and reducing the amount of glass required for street level commercial uses to 40% of the street frontage from 50%.

This report is intended to be the first in a series of reviews of Mississauga's planning guidelines.

This was approved by city council yesterday. You can find the presentation and debate at the 1 hour 18 minute 30 second mark of the video recording.

There is one thing I realized from watching yesterday's meeting that I should clarify. The Mississauga city centre area already has no amenity space requirements. The current 5.6 m2 or 4.5 m2 requirements, which are to be replaced by the 3.0 m2 requirement, are for areas outside the city centre. Mississauga already doesn't require amenity space in the city centre.

Also of note, in the staff presentation, they noted that one of the reasons for retaining the 3.0 m2 requirement outside the city centre is that ACORN, a housing activist group, requested it. ACORN was apparently concerned that without amenity space, tenants would not have a place to meet and organize.

In addition, Mayor Carolyn Parrish claimed the minister was pushing the city to review development charges, utility work required for development, and the city's building code. She mentioned the requirements for stairwells sizes as one thing which had come up.