Municipal

short-term rental

Vancouver to rev up short-term rental reg goals

Vancouver plans to expand its partnership with strata corporations to crackdown on operators who don’t comply with short-term rental regulations.
Forest Hill condo

Forest Hill condo promises direct LRT access

The Forest Hill will become one of the first condos with direct subway access to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
scrutiny of accessibility

Ontario aims to relax scrutiny of accessibility

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing says the underlying principle of improving accessibility will be maintained, and connects the revisions to the government's commitment to cut red tape that is slowing down the production of new housing.

RESCON: Toronto’s proposed restriction of high-rise concrete work to cost jobs, delays

The City of Toronto’s plans to stop after-hours concrete work on high-rise buildings will threaten thousands of jobs and delay the arrival of much-needed condo
suburban office parks

Mixed uses to ease into suburban office parks

The new policy would give developers a basis to challenge any local government's veto of non-employment land uses in suburban office parks.
clothing donation bins

Clothing donation bins may pose liability risk

Commercial property owners who host clothing donation bins could run afoul of their province's Occupiers Liability Act or Occupational Health and Safety Act should an incident occur.

Lounge furniture targeted as multi-res fire risk

Some condo lobbies may be looking spare lately because the lounge furniture that usually occupies these spaces is being targeted as a fire risk.

Vertical density channels Mississauga growth

Nearly five decades of lower-density development will take some time to fill in to more compact neighbourhoods and pedestrian-oriented commercial streets, but the vitality of the city's condominium market demonstrates that single-family residential is no longer the default built form.

Proposed short-term rental regs see early support

Proposed regulations for short-term rentals in Toronto saw early signs of support, with a few exceptions, when a staff report went before executive committee.

Big data backs medium-density development

The development of courtyard apartments, multiplexes and town homes could be among the building blocks of better housing affordability in Ontario.

MPP proposes time limits for elevator repairs

Han Dong, the Liberal MPP for Trinity-Spadina, is proposing to set time limits for elevator repairs with a private member's bill.

Unit owners sell boutique buildings to developer

The sale of a property in midtown Toronto that closed in January marks Ontario’s first case of unit owners terminating a condo corporation by vote.

Toronto cracks down on waste contamination

The City of Toronto is cracking down on bylaw infractions concerning the co-mingling of garbage and recycling in bins put out for municipal pick-up at multi-residential properties.

Vancouver developers to pursue zero emissions

The newly adopted plan sets out a two-part strategy to ensure that new buildings are as energy-efficient as possible and, perhaps more contentiously, do not rely on natural gas for space heating and hot water supply.

Streamline site plan approval: Ontario architects

Toon Dreessen, president of the Ontario Association of Architects, is renewing the OAA’s call for a streamlined site plan approval process.

Deconstructing housing affordability in the GTA

Housing affordability is a growing concern in Canada, but there is no consensus on how to quantify the problem. That might soon change.

Intensification impacts on millennial consumers

A new report on the impacts of residential intensification on consumers makes recommendations for consumer education, planning policies and more.