Family Friendly Housing

A variety of different approaches are being considered in the discussion paper titled Encouraging Family Friendly Housing in Hamilton. These approaches include initiatives such as policy amendments, new zoning standards, design guidelines, and others.

The 11 possible actions were outlined in the discussion paper released in September 2021, and are as listed:

1. Add policy language to the Official Plan about meeting the housing needs of families with children and larger households.
2. Add policy language to the Official Plan promoting the use of flexible unit layouts that can be adapted over time to meet the changing needs of residents.
3. Add specific targets for family sized units in new high density developments to the Official Plan to promote an adequate supply of housing, particularly in intensification areas.
4. Implement Zoning requirements for family sized units (ie. 3 bedrooms) in new high density developments. This action would need to be implemented in conjunction with targets applied in the Official Plan (See action 3).
5. Define a “family-oriented dwelling unit” or “unit suitable for larger household sizes” in the Zoning By-law and develop zoning requirements for these uses.
6. Require shared outdoor play areas or public-private open spaces with play areas in the Zoning By-law, for housing types where private yards are not provided or are minimal.
7. For multiple dwellings, require indoor communal amenity space in addition to outdoor space in the Zoning By-law.
8. Create design guidelines for outdoor amenity areas.
9. Create family-friendly design guidelines for the interior design of high-rise buildings and units.
10. Conduct neighbourhood assessments to identify how child-friendly a neighbourhood is and develop focused action plans or strategies for improvements.
11. Require a Housing Options report to be submitted as part of a complete application under the Planning Act, to collect information about proposed housing unit types, sizes, number of bedrooms and anticipated price ranges.

View the full discussion paper

Some additional terms that we use in Planning:

• An Official Plan is a plan approved by Council that describes how land in a community should be used. Official Plans mainly deal with issues related to:
  • where new housing, employment and shops should be located
  • protecting the environment and heritage
  • what services like roads, sewers, parks and schools will be needed
  • when and in what order parts of your community should grow
• A Zoning By-law controls the use of land on each property in a community. It includes details such as:
  • how land may be used
  • where buildings and other structures can be located
  • the types of buildings permitted
  • the lot size and dimensions
  • parking requirements
  • building heights
• Design Guidelines are a set of design statements to guide land development to achieve a desired level of design quality.
• Neighbourhood Assessments, in the context of Family Friendly Housing would assess how child-friendly a neighbourhood is and would include action plans or strategies for improvements.
• A Housing Options Report is a report that includes proposed housing unit types, sizes, number of bedrooms and anticipated price ranges.
• A Multiple Dwelling is a building that contains three or more dwelling units and includes a wide variety of housing styles and types such as block townhouses, stacked townhouse dwellings and apartments.
• An Amenity Space is a shared indoor or outdoor area that is provided in a development for the recreational use or social use of residents.