Proposed zoning bylaw won't help Ottawa's housing crisis, says advocate
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The comprehensive zoning bylaw, which was first proposed in May 2024, aims to streamline regulation and divide the city into six zones labelled N1 through N6, with six sub-zones labelled A to F. The zones will have regulations for density and maximum height of buildings, among others.
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It also includes amended zoning allowances for transit hubs, main street zones, minor corridors and neighbourhood mixed-use zones, as well as industrial and transportation zones and zones for institutional, recreation and green space.
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'The Official Plan directs how the city will grow for the next 25 years and we're trying to focus growth to locations where it's going to make the most sense for the city — in a bunch of different ways, like around transit stations — to make complete, livable communities and a financially sustainable city,' said Carol Ruddy, the city's manager of zoning and intensification, in April.
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Currently, city staff are gathering public opinions on its second draft of the bylaw, which caps housing in N1 and N2 zones (traditional low-density residential areas) at 8.5 metres tall, or around two storeys. This means only detached, semi-detached and duplexes can be built.
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Outside the Greenbelt, building heights are capped at 11 metres in low-density neighbourhoods, or around three storeys. This will enable low-density housing like townhouses and rowhouses to be built, which are often called 'missing middle housing' in urbanist circles.
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'We are at a turning point when it comes to creating the right conditions for the next generation of city building here in Ottawa,' said Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill in April.
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Hill also introduced two motions at the council meeting on April 16, asking staff to include an option that would set a building height limit of 11 metres in single-family neighbourhoods. Both motions were carried.
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Draft 2 also introduces regulations on building heights in mixed-use zones next to low-rise residential areas.
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If the zoning bylaw passes, there will be a 30-metre-deep height transition area next to any nearby low-rise residential areas. For example, buildings in one area can be approximately 27 storeys tall (the proposed maximum height for high rises) but must transition to 13 storeys, then to six storeys, then to four storeys within 30 metres of the abutting low-rise residential area.
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