The city of Hamilton, Ont. will be seeking input from residents on how they feel about zoning changes to fill in a “missing middle” segment in the city’s housing market.
As part of the city’s initiatives to tackle the housing crisis, municipal staff will soon be asking for Hamiltonians’ thoughts on “mid-rise residential zones” along arterial roads to fill a gap in housing between single-family homes and mid-rise buildings.
“We have a lot of low-rise single-family homes, but we don’t have those middle options which we know are more affordable and where we can put them,” Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson explained.
The city projects it will see some 236,000 people added to its population between 2021 and 2051.
Some 50,000 new homes are a target the Ford Government has set for Hamilton over the next decade as part of a plan to alleviate province-wide housing supply issues.
The possibility of “upzoning” to create intensification is something councillors are considering, allowing for broader housing types on the periphery of, but not in, Hamilton neighbourhoods.
In larger lots, the zoning would allow for housing up to 12 stories, including stacked townhouses, block townhouses as well as apartment or condo buildings.
Smaller lots would see a maximum of six stories.
“This zone is intended to be mainly applied on the periphery of neighbourhoods, on major or minor arterial roads,” city zoning reform planner Mallory Smith told councilors in a planning meeting last week.
“However, it does provide some opportunity and flexibility for lots within neighborhoods to be brought into the zone on a case-by-case basis.”
Wilson says examples of smaller arterials include Fennell Avenue on the Mountain and Aberdeen or Gage Avenue in the lower city.
“So looking at those sort of places where we have the opportunity, we have the land, and can be assembled according to what the zoning will look like,” Wilson said.
“And they’re already … set within neighbourhoods. So it’s a really nice complement and it provides for that transition.”
Staff have yet to come back with the “particulars” of the public consultation which is expected to encompass open houses and an online platform.
Results are expected to be publicly shared in the fall.