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Some of the most common questions we receive from inquiring homeowners are related to existing trees in their backyard and how these will affect the viability (and process) to realizing their laneway or garden suite. In recent months, trees have become a prevalent topic in Toronto’s accessory dwelling unit community as the new garden suite by-law was subject to lengthy debate over its impact on our urban forest. This post will clear the air on the subject (pun intended).

Toronto’s low-rise neighbourhoods are the lungs of our city. They represent nearly 75% of our land area. The goal is to preserve our urban forest and ensure these secondary dwellings, while important to provide new housing, do not result in significant removals and a depleted canopy.

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Today was a special day for Toronto. City Council voted 19-5 to approve the new Garden Suites by-law. This policy will allow homeowners to construct detached housing in back yards across the entire city.

Our city has been mired by NIMBYism for as long as I have been a professional architect. It was depressing. But today, city council literally said YES IN MY BACK YARD to something.[Read More…]

There is only one critical reason why garden suites are important to our city – they will continue to put control of new housing in the hands of everyday homeowners.

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When the Changing Lanes policy was enacted in 2018, City Council requested that Toronto Planning undergo a by-law monitoring program, reporting back following the first 200 permits issued or 2 years into implementation. The direction was to review the policy’s progress, evaluate, and make recommendations for refinement if necessary, in consultation with the community. We feel it’s a great initiative that allows lessons learned in implementation to inform an evolving framework.

On August 31^st and September 1^st, 2021, Toronto Planning hosted two information sessions presenting their findings from both an internal review and a report commissioned by Gladki and Associates Planning. On October 27^th, City Planning presented a series of recommendations for by-law amendments based on their community consultation and recommendations put forth in the Gladki report.

Here, we summarize the notable recommendations that will be presented to the Planning and Housing Committee on November 25^th, 2021.

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Timelines and budgeting are some of the most common questions we receive about laneway home development. Over the last 8 to 12 months, these questions have steadily become more focused on the premiums or delays associated with building during the pandemic. By now, we have all seen news articles and social media references to the ballooning prices of goods and depleted supply chains across many industries. While laneway suite construction has not been immune to these trends, it is important to understand the specific ways in which the pandemic has truly affected this new typology.

Here, we will highlight how the pandemic has affected two of the most important (and intertwined) factors in planning your project: timelines and costing.

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