Belleville approves 4 units as-of-right in residential areas, upzones 1,230 properties to allow for low-rise multi-unit

The “Residential Intensification” project made changes to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law that increased opportunities for affordable “missing middle” housing options by relaxing zoning restrictions and upzoning over 1,000 properties to allow more types and higher density of housing development, including four-unit dwellings on all urban serviced residential parcels of land (4 units as-of-right). The vast majority of community feedback was highly positive.

These housing options include:

• Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs):
  • Basement suites
  • Laneway houses
• Purpose-built dwelling types up to four units including two-unit, three-unit, and four-unit dwellings (e.g., a duplex, a triplex, or a fourplex):
  • Threeplexes
  • Fourplexes

Here is Belleville’s current zoning map.

Timeline

March 10, 2025 – Belleville approves 4 units as-of-right in a urban residential zoned areas

Allowing four units as-of-right

• R1 Zone
  • Previously allowed:
    • 1-2 unit residential semi-detached or detached, Long Term Care homes
  • Now allows:
    • 3 and 4 unit dwellings
    • Reduced required lot frontage, lot area, building height, and interior side yard requirements to make it possible to fit them on more properties, but still subject to other zoning standards to ensure that they can be a good fit for integration into existing low-rise residential neighbourhoods.
• R2 Zone
  • Previously allowed: 1-4 unit residential semi-detached or detached, Long Term Care homes, low-rise multi-unit
  • Now allows: Reduce required lot frontage, lot area, building height and interior side yard requirements

In general, the changes aim make R1 Zone similar to the existing R2 Zone, and reduce the R2 Zone’s size restrictions to facilitate more opportunities for “missing middle” housing options, unlock more housing opportunities and encourage greater land efficiency.

Upzone 1,230 properties from Residential Type 1 (R1) to Residential Type 2 (R2) along residential corridors

Increase Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) allowed from 2 to 3 on any single detached, semi-detached, and townhouse dwelling on an urban serviced property

This application proposes to permit additional ADUs for a total of four (4) units between main and accessory uses per urban serviced parcel. The below chart summarizes the allowances and how four (4) units can be achieved for each use:

Official Plan changes

The purpose of the Official Plan Amendment is to revise the Official Plan to facilitate residential intensification to increase opportunities for “missing middle” housing options, including four-unit dwellings on urban serviced residential parcels of land.

A minor Official Plan amendment is proposed to support the implementation of additional Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) permissions to increase the maximum number of ADU permissions from two (2) to (3), resulting in a total of four (4) units (i.e., one main unit and three accessory units), and extend these Accessory Dwelling Unit permissions for two-unit and three-unit dwellings.

Zoning Bylaw changes

Purpose is to reduce barriers for housing options and permit more housing opportunities along key corridors of the City, where municipal water services, sanitary services, and transit are more available.

The zoning by-law amendment application proposes to implement four units as-of-right for all common, urban residential zones, by changing zoning standards to:

• Reduce lot frontage, lot area, interior side yard setbacks, and building height for purpose-built dwelling types up to four units; and
• Increase the permitted number of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), to a maximum of three (3), resulting in a total of four (4) units (i.e., one main unit and three accessory units).

March 3, 2025 – Planning Advisory Committee recommends Council approve four units as-of-right through purpose-built four-unit dwellings and Accessory Dwelling Units

THAT Application PLOZA20240275 and PLOZA20240276 to amend the City of Belleville Official Plan and Zoning By-law Number 2024-100, as amended, be APPROVED as follows:

THAT the Official Plan, as amended, be amended as proposed through the Residential Intensification Project to increase the permitted number of Accessory Dwelling Units, to a maximum of three, resulting in a total of four units (i.e., one main unit and three accessory units), and extend these Accessory Dwelling Unit permissions for two-unit and three-unit dwellings.

AND THAT Zoning By-law Number 2024-100, as amended, be amended as proposed through the Residential Intensification Project, consisting of a text amendment implementing four units as-of-right through purpose-built four-unit dwellings and Accessory Dwelling Units, included as Attachment #3 to this Report SGS-2025-04.

March 3, 2025 – 92% (24 of the 26) of community feedback submissions in favour of the changes

Staff received interest from forty-two (42) members of the public and 92% (24 of the 26) of the written submissions were in favour of the changes.

November 4, 2024 – Public Meeting at the Planning Advisory Committee

5:30PM at City Hall, 169 Front Street

September 26, 2024 – Public information centre at Parkdale Community Centre (119 Birch St.) from 4:30 to 6:30 pm

We have initiated a project to increase opportunities for “missing middle” housing options, including permitting four-unit dwellings on urban serviced properties and we want your feedback. A public information centre will be held on Sept. 26 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at the Parkdale Community Centre (119 Birch St.) to provide more information and gain feedback.

The public open house will get feedback from individuals who might have some ideas, suggestions, concerns, and that’ll be incorporated into a report back to the planning advisory committee that will consider the application by the city

Director of Engineering and Development Services Stephen Ashton

Form to provide feedback on these initiatives

Open Council’s feedback submitted to the Residential Intensification project

Belleville has a housing shortage and rents are increasingly unaffordable. These pressures contribute to the rising homelessness and domestic abuse – because it is much harder to leave an abusive home when available options aren’t affordable unless the household has 2 incomes.

Here are my reasons in support of residential intensification in Belleville and the HAF2 application:

1. 4 units as-of-right is not a major change. The Ford government has already mandated 3 units as-of-right in Ontario in Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022. Under 3 units as-of-right, Belleville currently allows up to 2 accessory dwelling units (ADU) on existing residential properties (eg. 1 basement apartment and 1 separate unit).
2. Belleville is falling behind the growth of communities. Almost all the 179 other communities across Canada that have received funding from the Housing Accelerator Fund have agreed to allow 4 units as-of-right.
3. Laneway houses, coach houses, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes can be attractively designed and blend in with surrounding neighbourhoods. Here are examples of what they look like in Ontario.
4. Residential intensification and higher density development is cheaper for the municipality to service, which means lower property taxes. A 2021 report for the City of Ottawa found that to serve low-density homes built on undeveloped land (eg. suburban detached single family homes, or “sprawl”) it cost the city $465 per capita more than it returned in property taxes and water bills, per year, while high-density infill development (eg. apartment buildings) pays for itself and produces a surplus of $606 per capita, per year. Source: https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?documentid=80448
5. $17M in process upgrades. If Belleville commits to 4 units as-of-right in their HAF2 application, the almost $17M in funding would allow upgrades to City processes and systems.

September 9, 2024 – Belleville Council agrees to re-apply to the federal Housing Accelerator Fund pending a public consultation

Application for $16.8M to add an estimated 460 additional units over 3 years by allowing 4 unit dwellings on urban residential lots. Belleville’s first application to the Housing Accelerator Fund was denied, likely due to not including the change to allow up to 4 units on a property.

April 15, 2024 – Belleville directs staff to investigate appropriate intensification practices, including fourplexes, that would ‘complement neighbourhood characteristics’

REC. NO. 148-2024

Moved by Councillor Paul Carr
Seconded by Councillor Kathryn Brown

WHEREAS the City of Bellevi|Ie’s population increased by 8.6% between 2016 and 2021 to 55,071, which is faster than the provincial average of 5.8%, and the national average of 5.2% during the same period;

WHEREAS the Federal Government has launched a new $6 billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund including $5 billion for agreements with provinces and territories to support long-term priorities that commit to key actions that increase housing supply which include requiring municipalities to broadly adopt four units as-of-right and allow more “missing middle” homes;

WHEREAS the Federal Government has put in a contingency if provinces do not secure an agreement by the January 1, 2025 deadline, then the funding allocation will be transferred to the municipal stream;

WHEREAS the Ontario Premier has publicly stated that he will let each municipality decide whether to implement four units as-of-right;

WHEREAS the City of Belleville has committed to supporting the creation of 3,100 dwelling units by 2031 as its Housing Pledge to the Province;

WHEREAS the City of Belleville currently permits “as-of-right” zoning permission for up to three (3) dwelling units per urban residential lot
in accordance with Bill 23;

AND WHEREAS the City of Belleville would like to provide more affordable housing options by reducing unnecessary barriers;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

THAT Staff be directed to undertake new work, including stakeholder and community consultation, to consider appropriate intensification
which would include four-unit low-rise residential homes on a parcel of urban residential land that compliments neighbourhood characteristics, and report back to Council once the review has been completed.

Carried 9-0 on a recorded vote:
Councillor Tyler Allsopp For
Councillor Kathryn Brown For
Councillor Paul Carr For
Councillor Lisa Anne Chatten For
Councillor Barbara Enright-Miller For
Councillor Sean Kelly For
Councillor Chris Malette For
Councillor Garnet Thompson For
Mayor Neil Ellis For