Quote:
Originally Posted by mikevbar1
Id call this a good thing and a fun fact I wasn’t even aware of. With the way zoning has contributed to many contemporary urban issues and providing housing supply, as-of-right zoning really helps streamline what is already a complicated and laborious process. Glad to learn Hamilton’s taking a proactive approach.
What I’m curious about now is why we have a plethora of as-of-right zoning. I suspect it lies in either a) planning have enough time on their hands to create secondary plans and the various zoning designations, or b) legacy zoning that allowed/allows for ample development which didn’t come in the past as a result of our economic slump. Option c) is that Hamilton is actually just really on the ball planning-wise now  |
Most municipalities like using something called "section 37", which comes from, well, Section 37 of the planning act. Section 37 allows for municipalities to require additional funds for community improvements in exchange for increases in development height and density above that required in the zoning by-law.
This means that many municipalities purposefully keep zoning very restrictive and outdated to ensure basically every development needs to file a rezoning, which 1. allows for increased input from council (more power), 2. allows for increased community input (as-of-right development does not need to hold a public meeting), and arguably most importantly, 3. gives councillors millions of dollars to spend as they please in their ward.
Hamilton, for whatever reason, has never used Section 37 agreements, even on projects which have required rezoning. I believe this is largely driven by decades of little to no investment in the city, causing the city to not use them in an effort to keep development costs low. Hamilton also has unusually low development charges and gave tax breaks to new development until very recently in order to encourage it.
So for Hamilton, 3. doesn't exist and it makes a lot more sense for politicians to support as-of-right zoning.
Regardless, the Ford government is getting rid of Section 37 charges in September and replacing it with a new, more consistent funding tool which is not dependent on rezoning (which
Hamilton is planning on using now). I imagine we may see a lot more municipalities in Ontario create as of right zoning as a result since the $$$ from Section 37 agreements is no longer there.