Toronto Edges One Step Closer to City-Wide Multiplex Legalization

As Toronto’s population continues to expand, new allowances pertaining to multiplexes have moved one step closer to realization.

On Thursday, a proposed item — the likes of which would allow for low-rise housing types of up to four units to be built in all neighbourhoods across the city went to Toronto’s Planning and Housing Committee and was thereafter approved.

According to a City staff report released on April 13, Toronto is expected to attract 700,000 newcomers by 2051, and despite an uptick in the city’s mid- and high-rise housing development, the supply of low-rise housing, including multiplexes, has continually lagged behind actual demand.

Multiplexes are expected to be exempt from FSI provisions, according to city staff, which should help them to be feasibly built. (The FSI is the ‘Floor Space Index’. To put it simply, it is defined as the maximum permitted floor area that a developer can build or construct on any given plot or piece of land area).

“Given that built form is regulated through numerous performance standards like setbacks, building length and depth, and landscaping, and that FSI only applies to a portion of this city, staff are of the opinion that eliminating FSI restrictions for multiplexes is appropriate and aligns with direction to move towards more form- based zoning for residential areas as outlined in the Housing Action Plan,” the city report goes on to say.

The report also notes that, if legalized, multiplexes could help to accommodate and encourage aging in place “by reducing emissions through neighbourhoods that allow people to walk, bike, or take transit; allowing for less carbon-intensive construction; and helping to protect the regional greenspace system by better using urbanized land.”

If the item is approved by City Council, the new zoning allowances will go beyond the Province’s More Homes Built Faster Act, overriding municipal zoning and allowing for up to three units on all residential properties. City Council is expected to consider the item in May.