To address the worsening…

To address the worsening housing affordability crisis while improving environmental outcomes, the province should reform several outdated land-use regulations that unnecessarily increase land consumption:

Maximum Floor Area Ratio

Maximum Floor Space Index

Maximum Lot Coverage

Minimum lot frontage requirements

Parking minimums

Height Limits Depending on Sloped or Flat Roofs

Setback requirements (Front Yard, Back Yard, Side Yad)

Maximum Height Limits

These rules all function by preventing the efficient use of land. Instead of allowing additional floorspace to be created by building upward or within existing parcels, they force development to spread out horizontally. This effectively bans the substitution of floor space for land, leaving builders no choice but to consume more land per home. The unavoidable consequences are:

1. Higher housing costs
When fewer homes can fit within serviced areas, land costs are divided among a smaller number of households, driving prices upward.

2. Environmental harm
Sprawling patterns increase car dependence and transportation emissions, pave over farmland and natural habitats, and require more energy and infrastructure per household. Policies intended to limit building size in cities end up expanding the urban footprint into the environment — the very opposite of sustainability.

3. Reduced access to opportunity
Growth is pushed farther away from jobs, transit, and services, exacerbating inequality and excluding many families from high-opportunity communities.

Land is our most finite resource. In growing regions, regulations that mandate inefficient and low-density development work against both provincial climate goals and the urgent need for more housing. By modernizing these rules to permit taller buildings, more flexible footprints, and reduced mandatory parking, the province can unlock more homes where people need them most while curbing environmentally damaging sprawl.

Efficient land use is essential for affordability, sustainability, and equity. Reforming these constraints should be a priority in provincial environment and housing policy.