Toronto policy and missing middle housing: case studies for policy reform

This paper examines how the Toronto Official Plan and zoning bylaw have limit the market from effectively responding to housing demand. These documents protect Toronto’s ‘stable’ neighbourhoods from increased density and restrict development of affordable missing middle housing forms which could provide ground-related housing in desired areas. Policy which limits housing options in existing communities has contributed to negative social, economic, and environmental outcomes within cities. Recognizing the negative impacts of exclusionary zoning, jurisdictions across North America are reforming policy and zoning bylaws to permit multi-unit housing in areas zoned for single-detached housing. This paper reviews reform processes in several jurisdictions and recommends that Toronto reform its Official Plan and zoning bylaw to permit increased housing options across the city, conduct outreach to change opinions on increased density, incentivize production of missing middle housing, and use land value capture tools to limit increases in land values brought about by rezoning.

KEYWORDS

missing middle housing, yellowbelt, stable neighbourhoods, Toronto, zoning