Low-rise apartments, the 3 or 4 storey “walk-ups” which can be found in nearly every community, may be a dying breed if proposed low-rise apartment regulations are adopted by City Council. Proposed Bylaw 15178 would allow extensive increases in density and building mass, and would relax parking requirements for low-rise apartment developments which provide underground parking and are located on a transit route.
Allowable densities would more than double and the amount of floor area to lot area would increase from a ratio of 1.4 to 1.9. This ratio allows 4 storey apartments to be built to the minimum setbacks of 6 meters in the front, 4M on the sides and 7.5 M in the rear. The rear yard would have to accommodate visitor parking, utility box, garbage bin, and an underground parking ramp, leaving no room for a common outdoor amenity space away from the busy front street and suitable to serve the needs of families. Nor would there be space for a landscaped buffer separating residential units from parking spaces. Thus the apartments would not be able to meet the draft Residential Infill Guideline recommendations.
The motivation behind the proposal was to remove zoning regulations which were seen as barriers to building affordable rental accommodations. Given the proposed relaxation in mass, density and parking requirements, the development industry estimates rents would be $1400 per month, which is still significantly higher than the $866 affordable rent target.
Executive Committee of City Council is reviewing the proposed zoning regulations for low rise apartments on June 3rd, the same day that the Committee will be reviewing the Residential Infill Guidelines. It is hard to believe that the Committee would approve a proposal which contravenes the Residential Infill Guidelines, and does not produce affordable housing. However, this is a possibility, especially if there are no public objections. If approved by the Committee, it will be referred back to City Council for a public hearing.
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