Halifax zoning changes could allow for some 200,000 new housing units
Staff backs down on high-rise buildings near post-secondary schools
Major zoning changes to quickly increase density in Halifax have cleared their first hurdle, and while some items were scrapped after public feedback, the proposal still allows for hundreds of thousands of homes to be built.
Staff brought the slew of suggested changes to planning documents before the Halifax Regional Municipality's heritage advisory committee on Wednesday. They stem from the $79-million federal Housing Accelerator Fund the city won last year to fast-track housing.
Halifax has a shortage of about 20,000 units, and the vacancy rate has remained around one per cent for the past few years. It's one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, with a population growth of 14 per cent over the past five years that is expected to continue.
"We need to build a lot more housing … the rate of residential construction has not been able to keep up," municipal planner Josh Adams told the committee.
The changes could allow for more than 200,000 new housing units to be built in the coming years, with about 135,000 in the suburban area and 70,700 in the urban centre.
At least four units would be allowed on a lot in nearly all residential areas through the urban service area, where there is already city water and wastewater infrastructure, and up to eight units within the urban core of Dartmouth and Halifax.
Staff are also suggesting more height and density on current and planned transit routes, and approvals for nearly 100 specific developments within the regional centre and suburban area.
More than 700 emails and five petitions came in about the changes during the past few weeks of public consultation when staff collected feedback online and met with residents, developers and architects.
Planner Aaron Murnaghan said staff have tried to balance pressing housing needs with preserving the character of Halifax, which is partly why some heritage zones have been expanded through these changes.
Four new zones are also suggested: Dartmouth's Ropeworks area around Victoria Park and the so-called flower streets, as well as Jubilee Road and the Young-Woodill divisions in Halifax.
"It comes down to that building age and the cultural significance of buildings and neighbourhoods of the city that tell the story of how the city evolved," Murnaghan said.
Many people told the city they were upset with the suggestion to allow nine-storey buildings around post-secondary schools on the peninsula, so staff scrapped that. They are instead allowing higher buildings on campuses, as schools like Dalhousie University plan for new student housing.
"I think that's probably a good idea," Frank Palermo, architect and professor emeritus of planning at Dalhousie, said after the meeting.
"It was a proposal that really wasn't very well thought out, I didn't think, to begin with. And I think they had a lot of opposition to it."
Dalhousie asked for various specific changes to allow for housing, including on two current parking lots.
Staff suggest allowing the Rosina parking lot on Queen and Morris streets to be zoned for residential buildings up to 27 storeys, while the Hancock lot on the corner of Coburg Road and Oxford Street would go up slightly to allow 55 metres, or roughly 18 storeys.
Other tweaks following public feedback include only allowing one backyard suite per lot and reducing parking requirements for suburban developments — but not completely removing them, as was initially suggested.
There would be no parking requirements for new builds in the regional centre. The staff report said all of this information has been shared with Halifax Water for long-term infrastructure planning. Local immediate upgrades needed to sewer and water would be paid for by developers.
Although these changes are focused on increasing density overall, staff are also working on an affordable housing strategy that could include tools like "inclusionary zoning," which requires new buildings to keep some units affordable.
The heritage committee moved the changes to regional council, which is expected to debate them next Tuesday. A public hearing will be held before final decision.
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