SHAHEEN BUTT 

Background:

Cities are in a constant state of change.  In Pickering, some of this change has been experienced in the more mature residential neighbourhoods, where people demolish and build, or renovate older houses.

Areas near the lake were initially developed with summer cottages that, over time, were converted to year-round residences.  Permanent residences were built along existing township roads such as Fairport Road, Rosebank Road and Woodview Avenue.  By the 1960s, Pickering’s first planned communities, Bay Ridges and West Shore, wre developed.  The following 30 years saw similar low-density residential neighbourhoods developed in most of South Pickering.

Similar to the experiences of other municipalities, the City’s established residential neighbourhoods have been experiencing change in the form of infill and replacement housing over the last several years.  New dwellings are being built that are sometimes two or three times taller and significantly larger than the existing houses in the neighbourhood.

To address this matter, the City commenced the Infill and Replacement Housing in Established Neighbourhoods Study in July 2018 in accordance with Report PLN 15-17.

On March 112, 2018, Council adopted City-initiated By-law 7610/18 (now in full force and effect), which implements a 9.0 metre height limit in the general provisions of the “R3” and “R4” zones in Zoning By-law 2511 (this applies to lands not already subject to a site specific amendment regulating building height) as per Report PLN 06-18.

​

​