Housing Accelerator Fund: Apartment Infill Study - Residential Infill Report

The Apartment Infill Study is one of 54 actions in Toronto's 2023 Housing Action Plan ("HAP"), which seeks to increase housing supply within complete, inclusive, and sustainable communities with critical infrastructure to support growth. The new homes enabled by the Housing Action Plan will contribute to the provincial housing target of 285,000 new homes in Toronto by 2031. In recognition of the urgent action needed to address Toronto's housing needs, the City of Toronto has partnered with other orders of government to pursue all possible approaches toward increasing housing supply and to supporting growth. The study is also one of eight initiatives under the federal Housing Accelerator Fund ("HAF"), through which the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation ("CMHC") has committed $471.1 million in funding to support the City's efforts to eliminate barriers to building new housing, make a generational transformation of Toronto's housing system and increase housing affordability for residents. This report and zoning by-law represent deliverables to fulfill the City's commitment to Initiative 8 under the Housing Accelerator Fund, to optimize land use in the city's apartment neighbourhoods through establishing best practices and developing new tools to simplify and streamline the approval process for infill housing on existing apartment sites. The study recommends zoning amendments to enable additional housing on existing apartment sites by permitting townhouses on sites zoned Residential Apartment Commercial in city-wide Zoning By-law 569-2013, and by permitting the conversion of certain underutilized common spaces into residential dwelling units. It also recommends new permissions to enable overcladding associated with deep energy retrofits of existing apartment buildings, which will contribute to Toronto's housing supply through the preservation of existing and aging housing stock. It is important to note that renewal of apartment tower neighbourhoods, and continuing to explore opportunities for infill on apartment neighbourhood sites, remains an ongoing priority of City Planning. Future work is planned, including reviewing and analyzing apartment infill development trends, lot studies, and existing development review processes, to develop planning tools that will facilitate larger-scale apartment infill opportunities city-wide and/or on site-specific or geographic-specific basis. The recommended amendments have been developed in consultation with relevant City divisions and industry experts, and considers industry best practices, recent development trends, and the City's Net Zero Existing Building Strategy. They are consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement 2024 and conform with the Official Plan, including policies for Apartment Neighbourhoods , Housing and the recently adopted new Chapter 1 to the Official Plan vision, which aims to eliminate disparities, prioritize climate action, and become the world's most inclusive city.