HomeMy WebLinkAboutInformation Report 31-02INFORMATION REPORT NO. 31-02
FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING OF
November 21, 2002
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PUBLIC MEETING REQUIREMENTS
OF THE PLANNING ACT, R.S.O. 1990, chapter P.13
SUBJECT: City Initiated Applications to Amend the
Pickering Official Plan (file: OPA 02-003/P) and
Zoning By-laws (file: A 19/02)
To Permit Accessory Dwelling Units in Existing Dwelling Units
City of Pickering
1.0 BACKGROUND
on June 16, 1997, Pickering Council considered an Interdepartmental
Development Team Report (IDT Report No. 1/97) respecting two units in
housing; City Council, through Resolution #215/97, provided direction to staff
to initiate a zoning review addressing the establishment of new accessory
dwelling units in houses and consider the establishment of a registry for
accessory dwelling units concurrently with its review of the zoning provision;
on June 6, 2002, Pickering Council considered a Planning & Development
report (PD Report No. 25-02) respecting accessory dwelling units in housing;
and City Council, through Resolution #87/02, provided direction to staff to
host a Public Information Meeting to consider both Official Plan amendment
and Zoning By-law amendments to address accessory • dwelling units in
certain dwelling types;
accessory dwelling units in housing has been an issue that most major
municipalities in Ontario have had to address in some manner; it is not known
how many accessory apartments currently exist in Pickering, as there is no
formal mechanism to accurately track this type of residential occupancy and
as the vast majority of existing accessory dwelling units were established
without obtaining a building permit;
for the purpose of this report an accessory dwelling unit means a second
dwelling unit that is created within an existing dwelling unit but does not
include a second dwelling unit created in an accessory or secondary building.
25
Information Report No. 31-02
26
Page 2
2.0 PROVINCIAL LEGISLATION
in 1994, the Province of Ontario passed the Residents' Rights Act (Bill 120)
to allow self-contained second units in houses, provided that building,
fire and applicable planning standards were met;
this law superseded local zoning by-laws and applied to detached,
semi-detached and townhouses located in all zones allowing residential
uses, provided the building was connected to a municipal sanitary
sewer;
this provided all detached, semi-detached and townhouse homeowners
the "as -of right" ability to establish an accessory dwelling unit in their
dwelling if they could meet the applicable building, fire and planning
standards;
the Ontario Fire Code was also changed in 1994 to include safety
requirements for apartments in houses; homeowners were given a two-
year compliance period to upgrade their houses if they had an existing
accessory dwelling unit;
the Provincial Government then passed the Land Use Planning and
Protection Act (Bill 20) in May of 1996 which restored the municipal
zoning authority to control where accessory dwelling units may be
created and the standards that would apply; this was the authority that
was lost under the Residents' Rights Act;
as a result, homeowners could not create a new accessory dwelling
unit unless the local zoning by-law permitted such a use; in Pickering
there is no "as -of -right" zone that permits an accessory dwelling unit
and any property owner that proposes to create an accessory dwelling
unit is required to make an application to amend the zoning by-law for a
site specific zone that would allow an accessory dwelling unit.
3.0 OFFICIAL PLANS AND ZONING BY-LAWS
3.1 Durham Regional Official Plan
a goal of the housing polices is to provide a wide diversity of residential
dwellings by type, size and tenure to satisfy the social and economic
needs of present and future residents;
- specifies that the maintenance and improvement of the existing housing
stock shall be encouraged;
specifies that intensification is encouraged within existing urban areas;
further the Region in conjunction with the area municipalities will plan to
accommodate approximately 20% of all new population growth through
intensification;
Information Report No. 31-02 Page 3 27
Section 4.3.3 states that Regional Council shall support opportunities to
increase the supply of housing through intensification taking into account
the adequacy of municipal services and the physical potential of the
housing stock; housing intensification shall include, amongst others, the
conversion of single detached dwellings into multiple residential units;
specifies that local municipalities, such as Pickering, shall ensure the
inclusion of polices and designations to implement the intent of the Plan
including polices to permit the conversion of single detached dwellings
into multiple units;
3.2 Pickering Official Plan
the Pickering Official Plan states that City Council shall encourage a
broad diversity of housing by form, location, size, tenure, and cost within
the neighbourhoods and villages of the City, so that the housing needs of
existing and future residents can be met as they evolve over time;
further, City Council shall encourage the provision of an adequate supply
of housing throughout the City in terms of quantity, quality and diversity,
including the provision of an adequate supply of affordable, rental,
assisted and special needs housing;
the Pickering Official Plan states in Section 6.4(d) that City Council shall,
zone to permit accessory apartments, garden suites and rooming homes
where appropriate;
while the Official Plan has policies that permit accessory dwelling units,
clarification is required relating to density calculations for buildings
containing accessory dwelling units;
3.3 Pickering Zoning By-laws
the City of Pickering is currently governed by four (4) parent zoning by-
laws:
Zoning By-law 3036 covers the portion of the City located between the
Third Concession Road in the north and Highway 401 in the south;
Zoning By-law 3037 covers the portion of the City located between the
Third Concession Road and the northern limits of the municipality;
Zoning By-laws 2511 and 2520 covers the portion of the City from the
Lake Ontario shoreline to Highway 401, with Zoning By-law 2520
generally covering the central portion of these lands and Zoning By-law
2511 generally covering the eastern and western portion of these lands;
none of the parent zoning by-laws permit accessory dwellings as -of -right
in any dwelling units with the exception of the few site specific locations
where property owners have made successful applications to Council for
their specific property;
an amendment to all four (4) zoning by-laws will be required to permit an
accessory dwelling unit in certain types of existing dwelling units.
28 Information Report No. 31-02 Page 4
4.0 HISTORY OF ACCESSORY DWELLINGS IN PICKERING
accessory dwelling units have existed in Pickering for numerous years,
they have been constructed in existing dwelling units without the benefit
of a building permit or complying with existing zoning regulations,
resulting in the vast majority of accessory dwelling units being illegal;
accessory dwelling units are not currently formally tracked or registered in
the City, so it is not known exactly how many dwellings currently contain
accessory dwelling units;
the City is usually made aware of possible illegal accessory dwelling units
by complaints from neighbours, inspection of a property by the Fire Services
Division, through the review of building permit plans for alterations to existing
dwellings or through real estate advertisements;
when a homeowner requests recognition of an accessory dwelling units
within an existing dwelling, a site specific application is required to amend
the zoning by-law to permit the accessory dwelling unit; the City has
processed a few of these applications every year for the past few years;
the City has attempted to track suspected houses that contain accessory
dwellings and has generalized the location of these dwellings to
demonstrate that houses with accessory dwelling units are not isolated to
specific neighbourhoods in the City, but rather they occur in most
neighbourhoods throughout the City (see Attachment #1).
5.0 ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS IN OTHER MUNICIPALITIES
the issue of accessory dwelling units is not unique to Pickering, numerous
municipalities have addressed the issue;
different municipalities have taken different approaches to the issue, from
amending the zoning by-laws to permit accessory dwelling units across
the municipality in different types of existing dwelling units, to prohibiting
accessory dwelling units and enforcing the zoning by-law strictly when
complaints are received;
Attachment #2 is a summary chart of the results of a survey of accessory
dwelling units in other municipalities including all abutting municipalities
and all the Durham Region Lakeshore municipalities;
the survey indicates that some municipalities have made recent changes
to their zoning by-laws in order to recognize accessory dwelling units;
those municipalities that have permitted accessory dwelling units allow
them in detached dwellings and semi-detached dwellings, in most residential
zones that permit detached dwellings and semi-detached dwellings, and
require that one additional parking space be provided;
most of the municipalities that permit accessory dwelling units also have
established a registration by-law that requires all accessory dwelling units
to be registered with the municipality.
Information Report No. 31-02
Page 5
29
6.0 RENTAL APARTMENT VACANCY RATE
accessory dwelling units were recently brought to City Council's attention
in the report from the Regional Chair's Task Force on Sustainable/Affordable
Housing; one of the recommendations of the Task Force was that area
municipalities be encouraged . to amend zoning by-laws to permit
accessory apartments as -of -right in all detached dwellings, subject to
Ontario Building and Fire Codes and local building codes and standards
in order to provide additional affordable rental housing;
the need for additional rental housing is indicated in the vacancy rate for
apartments which is approximately one (1) percent of all rental apartments;
there has not been the creation of a significant amount of affordable rental
housing in the City, lately which further compounds the low affordable rental
apartment vacancy rate.
7.0 DISCUSSION
7.1 General Overview
Community Costs/Benefits
there are numerous social and financial impacts to both homeowner and
the community that result from permitting accessory dwelling units;
one of the most important benefit is an increase in the amount of rental
housing, most of which would be classified as being affordable;
accessory dwelling units can also be a means of introducing social
diversity into a community by integrating another form of housing into
traditional low density neighbourhoods;
accessory dwelling units may provide homeowners with additional revenue to
be put toward the cost of home ownership or home maintenance;
the additional revenue could be especially beneficial for homeowners
living on a fixed income, such as seniors who desire to remain in their
home;
some accessory dwelling units are created in order to assist in a family
issue where family members of the property owner live in the accessory
dwelling unit to assist in either a financial, medical or emotional situation
of the other family member;
accessory dwellings provide homeowners with flexibility as homeowners
can adapt their home to best suit their changing financial, social and
space needs; this allows homeowners to add or remove an accessory
dwelling as their needs change;
30 Information Report No. 31-02 Page 6
the creation of accessory dwelling units allows for the intensification of
existing built-up residential neighbourhoods without the consumption of
more land; thus a form of smart growth as new dwelling units are created
that utilize existing municipal infrastructure and do not consume
significant resources in the creation of the new dwelling units;
from a neighbourhood/community perspective concerns related to
accessory dwelling units are often related to physical or social change;
perceived concerns related to physical changes include reduced property
maintenance, increased traffic and loss of privacy all of which could
possibly result in a decrease of property values;
concerns related to social changes include fears that lower income
tenants in accessory dwelling units will have a negative effect on the
neighbourhood image;
although concerns may exist respecting aspects of accessory dwelling
units such as (parking); accessory units occur in most neighbourhoods
without any knowledge of their existence;
Unit Type
when considering the appropriateness of accessory dwelling units there
should be established criteria that any dwelling unit must meet prior to
considering whether the dwelling unit can properly accommodate an
accessory dwelling unit;
all dwelling units (existing and proposed accessory dwelling units) must
meet all requirements of the Ontario Building Code and the Ontario Fire
Code;
the subject property must have sufficient space to accommodate one
additional parking space on the lot and the additional parking space must
be located in such a fashion that the majority of the front yard is not
entirely used as a driveway/parking area;
the subject property must have sufficient amenity space available to
accommodate the outdoor living needs of two dwelling units;
the existing dwelling unit should be of a sufficient size so that the resulting
dwelling unit and the accessory dwelling units will both have appropriate
floor space;
the accessory dwelling unit should be accommodated in the existing
dwelling with no visible physical change to the front facade of the existing
house;
if the above criteria was used in determining the type of dwelling unit that
may be capable of accommodating an accessory dwelling unit, it appears
that the majority of detached dwellings and some semi-detached
dwellings could meet the mentioned criteria, while dwelling units located
in townhouses or apartments would not be capable of meeting the
criteria;
Information Report No. 31-02 Page 7 31
Zoning Standards
if accessory dwelling units are to be permitted in the City of Pickering,
there should be certain zoning/performance requirements that must be
complied with prior to an accessory dwelling being an "as -of -right";
accessory dwelling units may be permitted in all zones that permit a
certain dwelling type (such as detached dwelling and semi-detached
dwellings) or accessory dwelling units may only be permitted in certain
existing residential zones;
if an accessory dwelling unit is a permitted use, the requirement to
provide one (1) additional parking space would be a zoning requirement
in addition to the two. (2) spaces normally required for the principal
residence;
other possible zoning requirements include: minimum lot area, minimum
lot frontage, minimum floor area for the accessory dwelling unit, location
of required additional parking space; a minimum front yard landscape
area;
the requirement that the property be on full municipal services is being
further investigated;
the requirement that the owner of the property must reside in either the
main dwelling unit or the accessory dwelling unit is also being considered;
Property Assessment and Municipal Taxes
in reviewing property assessment the determining factor for assessment
value is "finished" floor area;
an example is that there is no difference in assessment values between
houses with basements that are finished for personal use and those
basements that are finished in order to provide an accessory dwelling unit
provided the level/degree of "finishing" is the same;
however, an accessory dwelling unit may be created without significant
improvements to the existing dwelling if the entire original dwelling was
completed "finished" and only minor modifications are required in order to
create the accessory dwelling unit;
the establishment of most accessory dwelling units does result in
improvements to the original dwelling that will result in an increase in the
assessment value of the property;
since municipal taxes are directly related to property assessment, should
there be an increase in property assessment due to the establishment of
an accessory dwelling unit, the municipal taxes for a property will also
increase;
since the vast majority of existing houses that contain an accessory
dwelling unit were built without obtaining a building permit it can be
assumed that the properties have not been properly assessed and
therefore are not being appropriately taxed given the improvements that
may have be done in order to establish the accessory dwelling unit;
Information Report No. 31-02 Page 8
Registration
when the Provincial Government passed the Land Use Planning and
Protection Act (Bill 20) in May of 1996, which restored the municipal
zoning authority to control where accessory dwelling units may be
created, this Act also provided a method for municipalities to keep a
record of buildings containing an accessory dwelling by adding new
provisions to the Municipal Act;
Section 207.3 of the Municipal Act provides the authority for a by-law to
be passed to require that houses with an accessory dwelling unit be
registered and that an inspection for compliance with safety standards be
a prerequisite for registration;
without a registration by-law there is no requirement that homeowners
advise the City that their building contains an accessory dwelling unit;
the establishment of a registration by-law will place the onus on the
property owner of a house containing an accessory dwelling unit to
register their house with the City;
a registration by-law can require that all accessory dwelling units be
inspected to ensure that they comply with all relevant standards set out in
the Ontario Building Code, the Fire Code, the zoning by-law and the
Minimum Maintenance (Property Standard) By-law.
8.0 RESULTS OF CIRCULATION
8.1 Resident Comments
- no comments from the public have been received as of the date of the
writing of the report;
8.2 Agency Comments
no comments from any agency has been received as of the date of the
writing of the report;
9.0 PROCEDURAL INFORMATION
9.1 Official Plan Amendment Approval Authority
the Region of Durham may exempt certain local official plan amendments
from Regional approval if such applications are determined to be locally
significant, and do not exhibit matters of Regional and/or Provincial
interest;
at this time, the Region has not yet determined whether this official plan
amendment application is exempt from Regional Approval;
Information Report No. 31-02
Page 9
9.2 General
written comments regarding this proposal should be directed to the
Planning & Development Department;
- oral comments may be made at the Public Information Meeting;
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