Laneway housing is intensification by innovation
The city of Toronto made progress this summer on an initiative that could help to introduce affordable market housing for up to 100,000 people.
It is an approach that embraces intensification through innovation.
This past July, council requested that city staff create a report by the first quarter of next year addressing the issue of laneway housing.
Laneway housing is classified as an accessory dwelling unit (or ADU), one that is created over a garage on a rear laneway.
Often called a “granny” or “in-law” flat — or a Fonzie flat in the U.S., a reference to the 1970s TV show Happy Days and the residence of character Arthur (the Fonz) Fonzarelli, played by Henry Winkler — these units work well to meet the needs of multi-generational families that want to reside in the same vicinity.
It facilitates folks aging in place and allows those who prefer living in single-family-style housing do so at a far more reasonable price.
Laneway units also deliver market opportunities for homeowners, who can rent them out, helping in turn to stock up a market that’s in desperate need of supply.
The move toward laneway housing may appear progressive by Toronto standards, but it is actually following the lead of other major North American markets, including Vancouver, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco, which all face similar housing challenges arising from intensification pressures.
Toronto is actually following the lead of other major markets, including Vancouver, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco
A recent study by the Sightline Institute indicated that 35 per cent of single-family houses in the city of Vancouver contained some kind of ADU — either in the form of a laneway home or a basement suite — accounting for approximately 310,000 dwelling units, or 8 per cent of the city’s housing stock.
In California, where the high cost and red tape involved in building ADUs had made them prohibitive for many homeowners, legislation went into effect in January that eliminated certain utility connection fees and removed a requirement to add off-street parking for each new unit. A recent poll showed that 25 per cent of Bay Area homeowners would consider building ADUs on their properties.
Those opposed to easing regulations on new ADUs cite concerns about increased traffic and changes to a neighbourhood’s character. Welcome to intensification. Lanescape, a Toronto community organization, received 2,300 responses to a survey and more than 200 letters of support in its early research leading up to its report to the Toronto and East York community council.
City staff will conduct enhanced consultations inthe next few months with residents, city departments and community organizations.
Hopefully, the hidden community and market benefits of laneway housing will be quantified during these sessions, and therefore be better understood and appreciated.
It makes sense to allow homeowners, families and friends to solve their own housing needs through laneway housing. By providing new units on existing properties, laneway housing can also add supply to the housing market, either via resale or rental.
This is intensification through innovation.
The city should be applauded for keeping an open mind, now and in the future, regarding solutions such as laneway housing.
The benefit of the initiative is twofold: this promises to bring Torontonians closer together while also fostering a community of innovation. George Carras is the president of Real-Strategies Inc. and the founder of Real Net Canada Inc. (now part of Altus Group). His column appears in New in Homes & Condos once a month. For more information, visit realstrategies.ca.