Plenty of people are still concerned over the prospect of dividing homes into multiple units in Bradford.
About two dozen people attended a second public meeting to voice their concerns about proposed changes to the town’s zoning bylaw during a special council meeting on Tuesday evening, Sept. 10.
As previously reported, that change would allow as many as three accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in addition to the main unit for a total of four units within a single structure (fourplex), or two accessory units in a main structure and one in an accessory building.
While many of the residents who attended and the opinions shared were the same or similar to those from the first public meeting on May 28, others had some new suggestions.
Based on regulations she said she’s found in other municipalities, Sabine Seybold recommended the town implement an owner-occupancy policy to require landlords to live in one of their units — whether the main unit or one of the ADUs — and fines of around $10,000 for anyone found in violation.
Steve Paraskevopoulos, who declined to provide BradfordToday with the spelling of his last name, said that as the son of immigrant parents who had siblings living with them, he supports building apartments into homes, and is supportive of ADUs in general.
However, he worried the town hadn’t canvassed enough residents — an opinion shared by multiple others in attendance, despite clarification from town staff that they had conducted an open house on May 14 before an initial public meeting on May 28, and a pair of open houses on Aug. 28 before the second public meeting this week.
All of that, staff noted, was in addition to brochures handed out at town events, advertisements online and even mentions in the newsletters included with water bills.
During a second turn speaking later in the meeting, Paraskevopoulos asked the residents in attendance how many wanted Mayor James Leduc to answer if he would use his strong mayor powers to push through the proposed changes regardless of residents’ will, and at least half raised their hands.
When the mayor explained he wouldn’t be making a decision that evening, things became tense, with Paraskevopoulos claiming the mayor was “gaslighting” him.
Updated answers from staff
A presentation from Mana Masoudi, senior planner for the town, attempted to address frequently asked questions from residents so far.
Masoudi reiterated that the proposed changes follow provincial Bill 23, which passed on Nov. 28, 2022, and made changes to the Planning Act to permit two ADUs in addition to the primary unit in single- and semi-detached houses and townhouses, allowing up to three dwelling units on residential lots with full municipal water and sewer services.
Following an initial decision on Feb. 20, on April 2, council approved going a step beyond the province in allowing three ADUs for a total of four units. Staff suspect it will put the town in a better position to receive federal funding, and will build upon the multi-unit residential buildings already permitted in R2 residential zones.
In addition to the two parking spaces already required for the main dwelling, the bylaw proposes requiring one additional space for each ADU — the maximum allowed requirement under the Planning Act.
For ADUs in backyard accessory buildings, a maximum height of 5.4 metres was chosen as that is the most common height on tiny homes made in Simcoe County, according to Masoudi.
Also for ADUs in accessory buildings, the most lenient of three potential setback requirements proposed by staff was included in the draft to get feedback on the most impactful scenario.
Town staff have no concerns over the ability of the town’s infrastructure to handle ADUs as result of the proposed bylaw.
In addition to that FAQ, staff later provided more answers to residents’ questions.
Masoudi explained emergency services would be able to attend calls at ADUs located in backyards thanks to the requirement for an unobstructed 1.2-metre path, and all ADUs would be required to meet and pass inspections for the building and fire codes plus property standards.
Alan Wiebe, manager of community planning, further explained Bill 23 prevents the town from implementing minimum size requirements for ADUs, but those units are still required to include sleeping, cooking and washroom facilities.
Since the province’s allowance for ADUs went into effect in Nov. 2022, Wiebe said only about 200 permits have been requested in Bradford, with only about 40 so far this year.
Many concerns over the need for more transit, recreation facilities and infrastructure in response to the proposed bylaw are already at least partially addressed in the town’s transit plan, leisure services master plan, and will be part of the ongoing growth management plan, noted staff.
However, Wiebe noted that as part of the growth plan, the town will also be considering the boundaries of a potential major transit station area (MTSA) around the GO station, in which the province does not permit minimum parking requirements.
Response from councillors
Some councillors remained skeptical, with Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano calling the ADU approach a “Band-Aid solution” to a federal affordability problem.
“The fabric of our community is at risk,” he said.
While Giordano said he is in favour of multi-generational housing he worried it wouldn’t fit well in most neighbourhoods, where ADUs should have “the strictest setbacks” in addition to fees, registration and enforcement, meaning more resources for bylaw and police officers to prevent a “free for all.”
He also suggested the town would be better served by building density downtown with more condo and/or apartment buildings with ground-floor commercial along Holland Street.
Ward 7 Coun. Peter Dykie said he received “so many calls” from residents over the last few days and he “cannot see” how the sewers in some areas will handle the additional units without leading to backups.
Dykie claimed to have seen that first hand in a home on Imperial Crescent where an added basement apartment caused a sewer backup that cascaded to other nearby homes.
He disagreed with the province’s decision to “open up the floodgates,” on ADUs, which would “ruin all the years of planning that went into making this a beautiful community.”
Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper said he’s already seen several unregistered units in town and wanted better oversight, and in response to comments from residents, Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine asked if staff could include different options for different areas of town, possibly based on lot sizes.
Council is not expected to make a decision until a later date, following a recommendation and report from staff summarizing the public feedback.
Until then, anyone can submit comments in writing to Mana Masoudi, Senior Planner, Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, Office of Community Planning, 305 Barrie Street, Unit 2, P.O. Box 419, Bradford, ON L3Z 2A9, or email [email protected].
For more information visit: www.townofbwg.com/ADUzoning.
