This petition aims to preserve our community’s residential neighbourhood zoning and exclude new developments which increase population density from being eligible for on-street parking permits in Toronto's 9B parking zone.

We the undersigned, strongly support:

1. Thoughtful intensification efforts by the City of Toronto to combat housing shortages.  
2. Provincial and municipal efforts to promote affordable housing. 
3. Initiatives that reduce carbon emissions by encouraging transit use.

Our proposal will help all 3 of these efforts while continuing to sustain a safe and liveable neighbourhood through traffic calming and parking congestion relief.

Background: In 2022, Toronto City Council approved the removal of minimum parking requirements for most new developments in the city in an effort to reduce construction costs and boost transit use. This was a sensible decision, but it can only take the desired effect with support from local communities like ours.

Our Concerns: Our community is zoned as a residential neighbourhood. It is shared by a mix of houses that include single family homes and multi-plex apartments as well as low-rise to 6 storey apartment buildings. The 9B parking zone is currently @ 90-99% capacity for parking permits as indicated by the Toronto Permit Parking Area Map.  This is a reflection of the reality that our community is already contributing our fair share of thoughtful intensification in Toronto’s battle against housing shortages. There are 2 developments near the west border of 9B that aim to significantly increase population density beyond the scope of the city’s official plan. 

• 149 Gainsborough has been approved to expand a 3-storey, 4-plex (with 4 parking spaces) to 13-units (with only 1 visitor parking space).
• 4 Newbold** has a plan proposal under review to demolish a 4-storey, 13-unit walk-up (with 6 parking spaces), to re-zone from “residential” to “residential apartment”, and to build a 10-storey, 70-unit building (with no on-site parking).

Not all of the new tenants will need parking but this adds a possible 66 new dwellings to a small area that can only be described as a parking congestion hot-spot.

Both developments mark a departure from the zoning protections that keep our neighbourhood and its infrastructure safe. These developments shift a significant burden on to a community which already faces disproportionate parking shortages, regular power outages, and curb-side crowding during the frequent disruptions felt by bus and streetcar lines caused by surface level traffic congestion.

Our Intent: If these developments (and any others like them) are prohibited from re-zoning and excluded from eligibility for street parking permits, they are more likely to increase density sustainably and attract residents who don’t own cars. This will boost transit use. Any potential tenants who own cars will likely rule these apartments out due to lack of access to parking, and more affordable rent is a likely side-effect. Finally, existing residents of the neighbourhood will be spared the burden of impossible parking.

The Effect: As we see it, this change will support the City’s Official Plan to build new homes near transit corridors and keep those new homes affordable, all without alienating an existing community.

** The development @ 4 Newbold is not yet approved and relies on re-zoning a section of our neighbourhood in order to qualify for the significant height variance requested. The closest examples of “Residential Apartment” zones include the tower blocks on Broadview (near Pottery Rd), Dawes Rd (north of Danforth) and Thorncliff Park (south of Overlea Blvd and visible from the DVP).