Oakville terrace and balcony study: creating flexibility

NRU
Sept. 6, 2017
Dominik Matusik

Oakville planners are exploring opportunities to remove restrictions on where the town permits balconies and rooftop terraces while being cautious not to negatively impact privacy.

Currently, Oakville’s zoning by-law does not allow balconies or decks above the first storey in one of its residential zones that typically consists of detached homes on large lots. As a result, staff has had to refuse minor variance applications for decks and balconies, even in situations where they would have no perceivable adverse effects.

“[Refusing] some of those applications just didn’t really make sense,” Ward 1 councillor Sean O’Meara told NRU. “[Such as] whether it was a house on the lake overlooking no one and staff [was] writing a negative report in terms of the application for a variance. So we had enough of those situations [and] we as councillors thought [it] was time to open that up and look at what’s going on with the trends in terms of balconies and rooftop terraces.”

Earlier this year, council directed staff to initiate a study of the town’s zoning regulations regarding balconies in its older residential zones, as well as to examine opportunities to decrease restrictions on rooftop terraces town-wide, which are only permitted in certain zones.

Oakville urban design manager Christina Tizzard told NRU that a prohibition on balconies came into effect with the 2014 zoning by-law and rooftop terraces were defined through a zoning bylaw amendment approved by the Ontario Municipal Board in 2016. Tizzard says that both the prohibition on balconies and the restrictions on rooftop terraces are now being reevaluated.

“It was recognized when processing a site plan application, or several of them, that certain land uses were not covered in that definition where having a rooftop terrace in those areas could be a benefit to the project or the site. So taking a look at where rooftop terraces may or could be permitted was part of the study, as well as the regulations that were assigned to rooftop terraces through that [OMB] hearing.”
 
Tizzard adds that while rooftop terraces are generally allowed in certain commercial and higher density residential areas, staff recognized that they may also be appropriate, on a small scale, in other zones.

O’Meara says that he’s heard concerns from residents on both sides of the issue. While some people are worried about privacy, he says that there are many people that would welcome the flexibility to have a balcony or rooftop terrace. He says that it is the job of council and staff to find a balance between the two positions.

“People are still looking for some kind of outdoor living space,” O’Meara says. “And we read the research on the benefits of green rooftops... and those sorts of things. I think we were kind of boxing ourselves into a bit of a corner and we weren’t allowing ourselves much flexibility to approve good ideas as they came along.”

A statutory public meeting is scheduled for the September 11 meeting of the Oakville planning and development committee. Staff expects to present final recommendations regarding amendments to the zoning by-law to council in November.