Saugeen Shores is putting together some residential intensification guidelines.
A recent presentation by MHBC Planning consultants to Committee of the Whole described it as a document that provides design direction for public and private development.
Mayor Luke Charbonneau says, “The reason for the residential intensification guidelines, is to give developers in our community some guidance in terms of how to add density to existing neighbourhoods or how to build new neighbourhoods with density included in a way that fits in with existing neighbourhoods or within the existing built character of our community.”
The Ontario Progressive Conservative government passed Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act in late 2022 which removed some of the oversight municipal councils had in the approval process.
Charbonneau feels the Town’s guidelines could be useful regardless of some of the changes in the Bill , “We can give that guidance to builders and developers. I think we have lots of ability still to work with them through the site planning process, to implement something like a mixed residential intensification guideline.”
He adds, “Bill 23 for example, when it came to site planning, took the ability for council to approve site plans away, but it gave that authority to our staff, so if we pass a policy like a residential intensification guideline and tell our staff they need to implement that guideline, then they’ll do that.”
Charbonneau says, “There are definitely things that we have to allow, and those things for Saugeen Shores at least aren’t a lot different from what we allow already.” He says allowing for higher density and secondary suites were things Saugeen Shores already implemented before Bill 23.
“It’s not going to be a lot of change for the Town. I think there are some procedural changes and that will mean what the public sees, or what an applicant sees council do will be different, but in the end we still have the ability to work with developers to make sure that the designs of development in our community conform to the character that we have to the greatest extent possible anyway.”
He adds, “The key thing is, what we need to do in every development is get more density so instead of just single family homes, we need duplexes, we need triplexes, four plexes, walkups, we need to have a mix of density spread throughout the community to serve different demographics of people in different stages of their lives.”
He continues, “Sometimes there’s resistance to that because a four plex can seem or appear out of place, if not built well in an existing neighbourhood. What we’re saying is this guideline shows how you can build a four plex in a neighbourhood of single family homes, have it fit in, have it not become disruptive and make sure there’s parking onsite, and all of those things that people worry about — it can be done. What we’re going to offer is some guidance on how to do it.”
Staff say in their January 23rd report, the guidelines complement ongoing work to update the Town’s official plan. Staff also note, the Attainable Housing Task Force identified the importance of maintaining the community’s small town character while increasing the supply and affordability of housing. They add, the 2022 Business Plan included a goal to review and update the Town’s Design Guidelines.
The residential intensification guidelines are still being worked on. Another public meeting on the guidelines is planned for sometime in the spring.