[IanWatson]

I generally don't think planning rules should require ground floor commercial, except on the busiest streets (and in those cases the market usually provides it anyways), but I do like the Downtown Halifax Plan rules that require ground level floor-to-floor heights to be 4.5 metres. It does add a little up-front cost to the building, but floor-to-floor height is pretty much the only thing you can't change about a building later in its life. If the market isn't there for commercial now, they can be nice residential units with high ceilings, and then get converted someday in the future.