St. John's City Council Approves Housing Text Amendment

St. John’s City Council has approved a text amendment to the Envision St. John’s Development Regulations that will enable a greater variety of housing types in residential zones.

Consultation for the text amendment took place during May.

The new text amendment includes the following changes to the City’s development regulations:

• Remove the Pocket Neighbourhood (PN) Zone and add Pocket Neighbourhood as a Discretionary Use to the Residential 2 (R2), Residential 3 (R3), Residential Downtown (RD), and Residential Mixed (RM) Zones. Set use standards for Pocket Neighbourhoods in each zone.

• Add Triplex as a Permitted Use to the R2 Zone, R3 Zone, RD Zone, RM Zone, Apartment 1 (A1) Zone and Apartment 2 (A2) Zone. Set use standards in each zone.

• Add Four-Plex as a Permitted Use to the R2 Zone, RD Zone, RM Zone and A1 Zone. Add Four-Plex on a Corner Lot as a Permitted Use to the Residential 1 (R1) Zone. Add Four-Plex use standards to each zone. Reduce the minimum frontage and lot area where appropriate.

• Add Tiny Home Dwelling to R2 Zone and RM Zone and set use standards.

• Allow Backyard Suites (a dwelling unit in the backyard of a residential lot) in various residential zones. A Backyard Suite will require a minimum of one parking space.

• Allow two Subsidiary Dwelling Units in Single Detached Dwellings, and one Subsidiary Dwelling Unit in Semi-Detached Dwellings or Townhouses.

• Create a new Cluster Development use to allow multiple buildings (Townhouse, Triplex, Four-Plex or Apartment Building) on one lot and set use standards in each zone. Cluster Development will be added to any zones that permit Apartment Building.

• Add Townhouse Cluster as a Use to the R2, R3, RD, RM, A1, A2, AD and AA Zones.

• Move Apartment Building, maximum 6 dwelling units, from a Discretionary Use to a Permitted Use in the R2, R3, RD and RM Zones.

• Add Personal Care Home to the RD Zone and adjust standards throughout zones to reflect similar standards to Apartment Building.

• Increase the maximum building height for:

• Single Detached Dwellings from 8m to 9m

• Semi-detached Dwellings and Four-Plexes from 8m to 10m.

• Apartment Buildings and Persona Care Home from 12m to 14m in the A1 Zone and from 40m to 52m in the Apartment 3 (A3) Zone.

• Set consistent Buildings Lines within Zones.

• Clarify definitions and standards where required throughout the document.

• The new amendment will be sent to the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Municipal and Provincial Affairs for registration. Once registered and gazetted, these changes will come into effect.

The City will receive over $10.4 million in federal funding over the next three years to implement its action plan.