St. John's proposes changes to development regulations to build denser housing more quickly

Proposed changes to the City of St. John's development regulations meant to cut down on red tape and allow more types of housing in more places have passed through the city's committee of the whole.

The proposed changes to the regulations are part of the city's involvement in the federal government's housing accelerator fund. Through the fund, St. John's will receive $10.4 million to help with changes to development regulations and to simplify internal processes and policies.

Coun.Maggie Burton says some densertypes of housing, like triplexes and fourplexes, will be permitted in more areas.

"You have to go through a lot of steps in order to get an application approved, and there's just so much risk involved. What this would do would be to take the uncertainty out of it for the development community," said Burton.

"It would add more types of buildings in the permitted-use categories to make it so that you could come forward with an idea and have it approved right away, instead of having to go through a process."

WATCH | The CBC's Lukas Wall explains some of the changes to development regulations that could be on the way in St. John's:

It could soon be easier to build more houses in St. Johns

5 months ago

Duration 1:50

The City of St. Johns has proposed changes to its development regulations that could allow for more four-plexes and backyard suites. CBC's Lukas Wall explains.

Some other Canadian cities, like Toronto, have allowed fourplexes anywhere, but St. John's hasn't gone quite so far. Fourplexes will be permitted in more dense areas, but only on corner lots in the lowest-density R1 zone.

Burton said there's a reason why a fourplex won't be allowed just anywhere.

"Character of a neighborhood is a really, really, really big topic for our residents, and it's really important to them to make sure that the character would not be changed in such a huge way that would sort of destroy the look of the neighborhood as it is," she said.

"We want to make sure that we increase density in a way that feels natural and something that fits into the existing neighborhoods, as opposed to something that sticks out like a sore thumb."

The regulatory changes are meant to help address a significant need for housing in the city.

According to a 2023 report commissioned by the city, there is a housing shortage of between 1,025 and 1,335 units, based on population estimates, which have been increasing and are expected to continue to do so.

The proposed changes will next go for public consultation and need city council's approval, but city officials say the new regulations could be in effect by early summer.

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