Ottawa’s planning committee receives R4 zoning update to increase rental housing supply: City issued 9,785 building permits in 2019

ottawa planning committee applications

Ontario Construction News staff writer

Ottawa’s planning committee has received an update on work to update R4 zoning standards for low-rise buildings with four or more units in Ottawa’s inner urban area. “Staff propose new standards to help increase the supply of rental housing in existing R4 zones. Stakeholders and residents are reviewing the standards, which the Committee will consider in June,” a city statement said after the committee meeting last Thursday.

New provincial policy directions for regulating land use and development go into effect on Friday, May 1. The committee received an update on the new Provincial Policy Statement and its potential impact on land use planning and development in Ottawa. The new statement aims to increase the mix and supply of housing, protect the environment and public safety, and provide more certainty around land development.

The Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development Department saw its fifth straight year of increases in planning applications from 2018 to 2019, according to the department’s annual report. To better meet approval timelines for the growing number of applications, the department started to implement council-approved changes to the Site Plan Control process and to development fees.

The report said that the number of building permits increased to 9,785 in 2019 from 9,398 in 2018, with 115,601 inspections in 2019 and 115,601 in 2018.

The committee received an update on inclusionary zoning, which requires development proposals to include affordable housing. The More Homes, More Choice Act limits inclusionary zoning to areas where a municipality has adopted a development permit system or designated protected major transit station areas. Staff will study which areas to designate and if inclusionary zoning is a viable option for Ottawa. A proposed policy and designated areas would be included in the new Official Plan, which Council will consider in late 2021.

Items approved at the Planning Committee meeting will go to city council today (Wednesday).

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