NEW HOUSES ARE TO FIT, RESPECT AND
REINFORCE THE EXISTING NEIGHBOURHHOOD
The
protection of Residential Neighbourhoods is a fundamental intention
of Toronto's planning. These areas are not intended to be
intensification targets. Furthermore, the term 'intensification' is
not a measure of house size but rather refers to population increase.
Hence, a larger replacement house is not intensification. It is
simply super-sizing unrelated to intensification.
Today's neighbourhoods are the result of yesterday's planning protocols and development decisions involving subdivisions, zoning measures and local environment considerations. The legacy of North Toronto's origins is a mosaic of interrelated residential building types, sharing similar harmonics in massing and detail, and generally built in concert with the surrounding building stock.
In the past, zoning measures were considered generous, as house sizes were less ambitious. Today's replacement housing looks upon zoning measures as archaic minimums rather than as maximums, often stretching limits to maximise building sizes.
Every new house seeking zoning reliefs needs to explain how it 'fits, reflects and reinforces' its immediate context. Development proponents utilise large study areas to reach out for a wider diversity of examples. Meanwhile, the perceived existing context is more rightly a comparison of local characteristics focusing upon the five houses on each side and the eleven across the street – or the outreach of public notices on the matter.
The
protection of Residential Neighbourhoods is a fundamental intention
of Toronto's planning. These areas are not intended to be
intensification targets. Furthermore, the term 'intensification' is
not a measure of house size but rather refers to population increase.
Hence, a larger replacement house is not intensification. It is
simply super-sizing unrelated to intensification.Today's neighbourhoods are the result of yesterday's planning protocols and development decisions involving subdivisions, zoning measures and local environment considerations. The legacy of North Toronto's origins is a mosaic of interrelated residential building types, sharing similar harmonics in massing and detail, and generally built in concert with the surrounding building stock.
In the past, zoning measures were considered generous, as house sizes were less ambitious. Today's replacement housing looks upon zoning measures as archaic minimums rather than as maximums, often stretching limits to maximise building sizes.
Every new house seeking zoning reliefs needs to explain how it 'fits, reflects and reinforces' its immediate context. Development proponents utilise large study areas to reach out for a wider diversity of examples. Meanwhile, the perceived existing context is more rightly a comparison of local characteristics focusing upon the five houses on each side and the eleven across the street – or the outreach of public notices on the matter.
No comments:
Post a Comment