number or size of bedrooms per dwelling unit in order to achieve the desired development in appropriate areas.
Development applications received since the plan was approved have trended towards mixed-used buildings with fewer beds per unit and more variety in unit arrangements, shifting away from previous trends of low-rise single detached dwellings with many bedrooms designed primarily with students in mind. The City of Waterloo continues to actively consult with community stakeholders and develop additional guidelines as needed to support the Northdale Plan, including a streetscape master plan and environmental assessment.
City of Ottawa – Sandy Hill Neighbourhood
Ottawa’s Sandy Hill neighbourhood faces some similar challenges to those experienced by residents of Ward 2 who live near the University of Windsor. In Sandy Hill, near the University of Ottawa and not far from Parliament Hill, a historic neighbourhood is experiencing increased housing quality and affordability issues. A significant increase in student enrollment over the last decade at the nearby university has created a demand for housing nearby. Developers are responding by replacing existing single detached dwellings with multi-unit rental buildings geared towards a single tenant group, which is changing the composition and character of the neighbourhood for existing long-term residents.
In response to these issues, Ottawa’s Zoning, Intensification & Neighbourhoods Unit of their Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development Department produced a discussion paper in 2016 to explore the issues and intent behind R4 Zoning Review as well as considerations for possible solutions. On July 12, 2017 Ottawa City Council implemented Interim Control By-law 2017-245 to freeze development and undertake a review of the R4 zoning applied to most of Ottawa’s inner urban established neighbourhoods. Further papers were produced in 2017 containing draft proposals and public commentary received through consultation. The resulting R4 Zoning Review Zoning Proposals Report to the Planning Committee in June 2018 led to Zoning By-law Amendment 2018-206. This amendment established a limit of 4 units in a dwelling in either single detached or multi-unit buildings. To address the needs of large or extended family housing, it added a new term, “oversized dwelling unit”, to permit homes with up to 8 bedrooms to be constructed provided they met certain requirements, including only being permitted in single detached dwellings. The zoning of the properties remained unchanged.
The purpose of the R4 Zone is to allow for a wide mix of residential building forms from detached homes to low rise apartment dwellings no more than four storeys tall. In response to regulations limiting the number of bedrooms in a dwelling unit, developers adapted their designs to meet regulations while still addressing the unchanged market demand for student housing near the University of Ottawa. Rather than producing “bunkhouse” style units with many bedrooms per unit, developers designed buildings composed only of bachelor and one-bedroom units in order to continue to meet market demand for student housing. The City’s website now identifies “inappropriate caps on the permitted number of units” as a hindrance to developing the kind of “viable walk-up apartment building” the R4 Zone is intended to contain.