Question 1: What are the…

Question 1: What are the biggest barriers and delays to diversifying the types of housing built in
existing neighbourhoods?
- Lack of knowledge and expertise in working with existing buildings . Easy inexpensive as-a-right demolition permits for existing buildings, low landfill fees, and no requirement to deconstruct valuable materials from existing buildings in reusable form. Disincentives to rehabilitating existing buildings and easy access to cheap materials and financing for bare ground new construction. See 2020 report attached: Making Reuse the New Normal: Accelerating the Reuse and Retrofit of Canada's Built Environment (attached) and the work of the deconstruction company Unbuilders in British Columbia - they have aspirations of bringing their model to Ontario. Canada is the largest producer of waste per capita in the world.

Question 2: What further changes to the planning and development process would you suggest to
make it easier to support gentle density and build missing middle housing and
multigenerational housing, in Ontario? Reduce red-tape and eliminate fees for owners who wish to rehabilitate existing rental buildings. Follow the example of the envrionmental award winner Ken Soble tower in Hamilton; built in 1967 and inefficient it was reclad and is now 94% more efficient and remains affordable housing.

Question 3: Are you aware of innovative approaches to land use planning and community building
from other jurisdictions that would help increase the supply of missing middle and
multigenerational housing? Belgium is now working to ensure property owners must justify demolition, not receiving demolition permits as-a-right. This will have an environmental impact - cutting down on resource use, landfill, and GHG emissions - will retain existing housing and force developers to be more creative and innovative in introducing additional density in existing neighbourhoods.

Question 4: Are there any other changes that would help support opportunities for missing middle
and multigenerational housing?
- Increase the number of second and third storey rentals over older/heritage main street commercial spaces by loosening code restrictions. Reducing or eliminate parking requirements for new residential buildings to ensure smaller existing buildings around large new projects are not needlessly demolished for surface parking.