11/26/2022
One of the significant barriers to actually constructing fast "affordable" or "attainable" housing in Ontario has consistently been the red tape that municipalities have accumulated over the years with respect to zoning variances and permitting procedures. We will soon be calling on city council across multiple regions to examine and consider adopting a NEW class of Emergency residential zoning named "ESTR" (Emergency Short Term Residential) with 2 densities (ESTR-1 & ESTR-2)
ESTR designated zones would allow property owners, land bankers, and or Developers the ability to QUICKLY make application to a municipalities "committee of adjustment " to obtain a permit for the Short Term use or conversion (between 5 and 10 years) of property that may be zoned outside of residential use. This Special Zoning Allowance would be approved based on a fast tracked (apx 2-4 weeks) pre-development meeting with the municipalities committee of adjustment, and be subject to a fire services site inspection and the implementation of a short term school board tax on the non residential zoned subject property. Furthermore the developer must meet specific criteria and commitments with respect to maintaining the affordability and accessibility of the ESTR property within the municipality. This would allow a safe, affordable short term resolution to housing while more appropriate long term housing resolutions are executed across the province over the next 10 years.
What ESTR looks like in a nutshell is this. Legal safe short term conversion of Industrial and Agricultural zoned land that may otherwise be sitting in land banking portfolios for long term development, the ability to immediately deploy specific and appropriate "commercially " zoned property to short term (5 to 10 year) residential units , and will allow developers to deploy safe, affordable tiny home resolutions, on land that sits undeveloped where that land and the municipalities would benefit from residential usage.
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www.TurnKeyDevelopments.ca The City of Barrie York Region (The Regional Municipality of York) CBC Toronto Peel Region