How can my property be regulated?

You may not know that your property may be regulated right under your nose. The Conservation Authorities are tasked with identifying and protecting watercourses, wetlands and shorelines. This duty to protect has led to many properties having their usable lands reduced, some completely. When you have property that has any identifiable features that may fall under your local governing Conservation Authorities purview to regulate. They will add that section of property to their mapping software and now you no longer have the ability to build on or alter that section of property without prior approval.

What does it mean if my property has Conservation Authority Regulated lands? 

You no longer have a say in what you can do with those areas of your property. There are different classes of protection that are used, but in most instances development is prohibited if there are any ecologically sensitive animals or plants. If there is a risk of contaminating or altering a significant watercourse, then development is completely prohibited. There are a number of cases where the regulated areas do allow for building and development to occur, and many times the regulated area is an accident which can be quickly resolved with a site meeting with a Conservation Authority Technician. 

What to do if I want to build within a Conservation Area?

The Conservation Authority has a separate permitting system, similar to a building permit for a town or city. This permitting process needs to be complete prior to applying for the building permit with the township. After completing the work permit for the Conservation Authority, you are usually given a list of requirements that must be met during the construction phase of the development. So if you have found out that your addition or home build is going to be stalled by the Conservation Authority, please contact us here, and we can help determine the best course of action in working with the Conservation Authority. 

Big Changes Coming To Ontario!

There’s no date set for the approval of the proposed More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, that is in second reading. But when it is approved it is going to change so much about the housing market in Ontario.

Believe it or not but the biggest changes are going to benefit most homeowners in Ontario. The key to the strategy is something that I’ve written about previously, which is the secondary suite policy that was passed in Haldimand last year. This policy is the ability to create a free-standing rental property on the existing space of your larger residential lots. The initiative creates density in existing residential zones. On top of that this new home does not require Development Charges, or Parkland Fees, which greatly reduces the initial investment required to build. Included in the proposal is the removal of all zoning restrictions that limits the creation of duplexes and higher-density residential buildings. So it doesn’t matter if passed as proposed there will be a building frenzy of creating a large number of rentals to maximize rental income for the owners, and the net benefit is that renters will have more options to pick from.

Parking

One of the biggest issues in cities is always parking, developments and residential growth is almost always limited by the number of parking spots. As developments build up, parking goes out. Unless the development is large enough to accommodate the cost of a raised parking lot. So to ameliorate this the new policy is proposing that the new province wide minimum for parking be lowered to one parking space per unit. Down from the current minimum of 2 spots per unit. This decrease alone will ensure that hundreds of developments that are held up because of parking will be approved.

Conclusion

If all these changes that are proposed do go through, in the next year it will be a scramble for people to find properties that can support multiple units. If you want to be ahead of the curve please reach out to us by clicking here. We can help do the research to determine if your properties will be eligible for multiple secondary suites. See proposed policy here.

7400 Acres Removed from the Greenbelt?!

What is the Greenbelt?

The Greenbelt Act is a control that was designed to limit residential development outside of city centers, towns and hamlets. The goal was to increase density in the areas where there already are houses to prevent the suburban sprawl to continue its climb into Prime Agricultural Lands. The Greenbelt prevents subdivisions from being built where there is a large output of food growth. The Greenbelt Act completely locked down approximately 720,000 acres of land in Ontario.

Why Change It?

As the limits of density are beginning to be reached in some areas the outcry for more homes at any cost is getting louder. The Canadian Federal government has accepted 405,000 immigrants in 2021 and is aiming for 430,000 in 2022, with an additional 1.4 million over the next three years. With this influx of immigrants, (the largest rate in Canadian history) we are going to need a lot more housing. So these 7400 acres may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed to have affordable housing in Ontario, but it is a step in the right direction especially since they have redesignated more than the 7400 acres of land into the Greenbelt to replace these proposed areas.

What is Changing to the Greenbelt?

With the coming changes to the Greenbelt, some agricultural lands will be moved into development zones. The proposed 7400 Acre redesignation effort will more than likely have a small impact on the overall Greenbelt. The parcels that are being redesignated are in 12 locations spread around from York down to Grimsby. These proposed areas will allow an estimated 50,000 new homes to be built in the next 5-8 years as part of the 1.5 million house goal that the Ontario government has campaigned on. If you want to see the proposed areas that are being redesignated the link here to see the maps. If you have any questions regarding the status of your lands and what you can do with them click here to reach out to us!

What is APO, and how does your farmland use become locked?

APO is a zoning designation in Ontario that limits a property’s uses. If you are looking for land to build on, APO zoning should be the first thing you look for. There are a number of horror stories of people purchasing land with plans to build a new house, ultimately never being able to do so. 

APO zones are created when a surplus farm dwelling severance is performed. This is where a large plot of farmland has a house on it that can be severed off with an acre of the property so the farmer can sell that house to make the farmland financially accessible. So don’t get stuck with farmland you can’t work with, please click here to reach out to us and we can research the property and give you the permitted uses. Don’t get stuck, purchase with confidence having all the information you need!

Build a second home next to your first one?

The new trend in municipal by-law is density. With the Ontario Government's new changes to the Planning Act, it is rumored that they are going to be reevaluating nearly 7400 Acres of Greenbelt to allow a whopping 50,000 new homes to be built. On the way to their goal of creating 1.5 Million new homes, municipalities have begun the process of allowing second or even third dwelling units to increase the residential density in existing zones. What does that mean in plain speak? You can build multiple separate dwellings inside or detached from your existing house! So a single family home can now legally in Haldimand have Well if you live or are looking to buy in Haldimand County this has already passed and become a by-law for nearly two years now.

What does this mean for you?

If you own a residential property on a lot that is large enough to support it, you can have a completely stand-alone secondary residence on the same property. There are no limiting restrictions on in-laws or farm help either. The entire process can be approved with a simple building permit, and the best part is you can use the space on your property the way you want to. Today the most common approach for kids to get ahead is to move in and make a multi-generational home. This approach taken by Haldimand allows for a wide variety of uses including short-term rentals. If you want to build this second house and think you can have a nice view that someone else is willing to pay for you can build this stand-alone house and do just that.

So what’s the catch?

The planners in Haldimand didn’t just decide to allow the wild west of infill lots and severances. They have stipulations that limit the creation of new lots through this density initiative. So you won’t get a new property that you can sell separately from your primary residence. And the structure is limited to approximately 1000 square feet in the Agriculturally zone and Rural Residential zones. And 807 square feet in R1, R2, and R3 zones or 40% of the gross floor area. However, if you have the space and the ability to deal with the sewage increase then you can have up to two secondary suites on a single Residential property (with one being inside the primary residence - like a basement apartment). With this knowledge in hand if you need help determining if your property is eligible for one or two more secondary suites click here to contact us.

For a link to the pertinent by-law click here.