May 2014 Revised April 2015

City of BramptonGuide for Infill Housing in Mature Neighbourhoods

BRAMPTONFlower City

This guide was prepared by SGL planning associates for the City of Brampton. The City would like to thank the stakeholders who participated in the various workshops and meetings that led to the production of this document.

a guide for building additions and replacement dwellings

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Table of Contents

Introduction............................................................... 3 What is Neighbourhood Character ? ........................ 4 Getting Started ......................................................... 5

Guidelines for Infill Housing ..................................... 7 1. Building Setbacks........................................... 7 2. Building Height and Massing ......................... 8 3. Garage and Driveway Location ..................... 9 4. Front Entrance Treatment ............................. 10

5. Landscape ................................................... 11

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IntroductionThroughout many of the stable and established residential neighbourhoods in Brampton, dwellings are being renovated, enlarged, or replaced by new homes. City Council has designated specific residential areas in the City as “Mature Neighbourhood Areas.” The construction of new dwellings, replacement housing and additions (greater than 50 m2) should retain and be compatible with the overall character of the community’s existing housing stock and natural areas, and contribute to the distinct qualities of the neighbourhood.

The Resident’s Guide for Infill Housing In Mature Neighbourhoods is intended to provide guidance for homeowners, designers, architects and landscape architects by outlining the framework and design prin-ciples on the physical layout, massing and relationships of new and modified dwellings in mature neigh-bourhood areas.

Map showing Mature Neighbourhood Areas

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What is neighbourhood character?

1. Building setbacks2. Building heights and massing3. Garage and driveway location4. Front entrance treatment

5. Landscape

Delivering Inviting Streetscapes:The arrangement of front yards, walkways and driveways should be visually connected to the street to create a welcoming environment for walking and/or cycling.

Ensuring built form fit:Through appropriate building heights, roof lines, and building width and depth (referred as massing) homes should be designed to comfortably fit with others on the same block.Achieving compatibility is not about replicating the existing form or reproducing architectural styles or details of surrounding buildings. Rather, the focus is to direct how new development can be de-signed to maintain and preserve neighbourhood character.

For additional design guidance, homeowners, designers, architects and landscape architects should refer to the City’s Development Design Guidelines – Chapter 7.

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Getting Started

AConsultation B Preparation of Plans(Site Plan, Elevations, Floor and Roof Plans)

Consult with the City’s Development Services Division (905-874-2050) to determine if your property is located within the defined “Mature Neighbourhood Areas.”

The Mature Neighbourhood Area Site Plan and Zoning By-law requirements only apply to single detached dwellings.

Properties located within a Mature Neighbourhood Area are subject to specific zoning requirements, in addition to any site-specific requirements set out in the underlying zone.

Properties located within a Mature Neighbourhood Area are subject to Site Plan approval if your proposed addition, new home or replacement dwelling has a gross floor area equal to or greater than 50 m2.

Be familiar with the general quality and design of the homes in your neighbour-hood. The preparation of your plans should be designed to maintain and preserve neighbourhood character and should consider the design guidelines within this Resident’s Guide.

A reputable architect and contractor should be hired to prepare your plans. Ensure that they have the skills to improve your house within the context of your neighbourhood and your new housing requirements.

The construction of new dwellings and additions can impact neighbours. Take the time to keep your neighbour’s property informed about your plans and timelines, and when possible, provide them with contact information so that they can ask questions or discuss any concerns they may have. Keep the construction site clean and safe.

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Site Plan approval is required if your pro-posed addition, new home or replacement dwelling has a gross floor area equal to or greater than 50 m2.

Additions less than 50 m2 do not require Site Plan approval and you may proceed with filing a Building Permit Application.

Site Plan approval will be issued once all of the City’s comments have been addressed and your plans conform to the City’s Zoning By-law. If your proposal does not comply with the requirements of the Zoning By-law you may apply to the Committee of Adjustment for consideration of a minor variance to accom-modate your proposed construction.

Once Site Plan approval is issued, you can submit a Building Permit Application. Your approved site plan drawings will be required to be submitted as part of your Building Permit Application.

C DPlease refer to the attached Site Plan Guide and Application Form for the Site Plan approval submission requirements for Mature Neighbourhood Areas.

Find Information on-line at:

Mature Neighbourhood Information – http://www.brampton.ca/EN/residents/Building-Permits/Pages/MatureNeigh-bourhoods.aspx

Zoning Home Page- http://www.brampton.ca/EN/residents/Building-Permits/zoning/Pages/wel-come.aspx

Specific Zoning Requirements for Mature Neighbourhoods-http://www.brampton.ca/EN/residents/Building-Permits/zoning/Pages/Mature-Neighbourhood.aspx

Homeowners Page-http://www.brampton.ca/EN/residents/Building-Permits/homeowners/Pages/

Municipal Approvals Information

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1The building’s spacing or setback to the front, sides and rear property boundaries make for a distinctive block pattern that define your street.

Setbacks have a number of purposes:

• They provide uniformity to a neighbourhood by determining the placement of buildings. This in turn results in distinctive streetscapes with varying degrees of street visibility and walkability.

• They allow a certain measure of privacy between neighbours, provide space for light and air circulation, and provide open space for landscaping and recreational use.

The manner in which you design your home improvement will have a great impact on your block’s streetscape and neighbours’ privacy. There are a few things to ensure when considering design solutions:

• Setbacks shall conform to the standards of the City’s Zoning By-law.

• Similar setbacks are maintained on the block or on adjacent properties. Locating buildings too close to, or too far from, the street edge will visually disrupt your block’s setback pattern.

• Rear yard privacy and sunlight issues are addressed when extending a home towards the rear property line.

building setbacks

Guidelines for Infill Housing

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2The size and massing of a new home or addition should be compatible with the general scale and shapes of surrounding houses.

On blocks where single-storey or small two storey houses are the predominant block pattern, a second-storey addition or a new two storey house may require particular attention in order to be compatible with the surrounding structures.

Scale may be minimized by considering one or more of the following techniques:

• Limiting your building height to two storeys.

• Sloping the new roof back from adjacent houses.

• Consider flat roofs on blocks with a predominant pattern of peaked roofs with careful attention to details

• Proportioning the front façade and roof line to have a horizontal emphasis.

• Introducing projecting dormers, bay windows, variation in wall planes to de- emphasize the height of the dwelling

• Avoiding features with strong vertical orientation.

building height and massing

Architectural style of new houses and substantial remodeling should be compatible with the architectural styles found in the surrounding neighborhood. No specific style is recommended, but whether your new home is contemporary or replicates a style found in the neighbourhood, it should be compatible. Ensure that its design employs building scale, massing, roof lines, and building orientations that are commonly found in the neighborhood.

Guidelines for Infill Housing Guidelines for Infill Housing

Not Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

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Garages and driveways have an enormous impact on the way our streets and neighbourhoods look and feel. A neighbourhood characterized by large and unproportionate garages promotes an undesirable walking experience.

In general, new garages should be located and sized to be consistent with the established pattern in your neighbourhood. In neighbourhoods where there are detached garages located in the rear yard, new garages should also be located at the rear of the house. In neighborhoods where there are attached garages, new garages located either at the front or side of the house should be recessed from the main building face.

On corner lots, attached garages and their access driveways shall be located away from the corner.

For additional guidance, please refer to Chapter VII Section 4.0, Development Design Guidelines

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location

Examples of attached Front Facing Garage OptionsExamples of Garage projection criteria

Guidelines for Infill Housing

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Examples of attached Front Facing Garage Options

Your home’s main entrance should be oriented to the street and be architecturally emphasized to provide a welcoming experience. Such an entrance can be achieved through the use of porches, verandas or some other form of enhanced entryway.

In neighbourhoods where there is a dominant pattern of existing front porches, a new house or addition should consider a front porch consistent with the style of the house.

Porches symbolize the connection between the private world of the house and the public world of the street and help to develop neighborhood ties.

Main entrances should be prominent, oriented to the street and in appropriate scale to the block as well as the house.

Weather protection at the main entrance should be provided through the use of covered porches, porticos, canopies or recesses.

For a new house, avoid large number of steps leading to the front or side entrance, in order to maintain a pedestrian scale.

For additional guidance, please refer to Chapter VII Section 3.5 and 3.6, Development Design Guidelines

4front entrance

treatmentExamples of prominent, street oriented

front entrances

Guidelines for Infill Housing Guidelines for Infill Housing

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5Front yards provide an opportunity to minimize the visual harshness of concrete and asphalt. Additionally, they play an invaluable role in lowering summer temperatures and providing areas for rain water to filter into the ground.

There are some helpful tips to keep in mind when planning your front lawn:

• Maintain existing slopes to the extent possible.

• Preserve mature trees wherever possible.

• Consider permeable paving for new walkways and driveways to reduce run -off to storm sewers and to benefit the lawn and plantings.

• Avoid disturbing the root zone under any tree canopy, including not driving heavy equipment over or adding top soil over 25mm depth.

• Avoid perimeter landscaping along the front property line that completely screens the view of your home from the sidewalk/street.

• Use ground cover and/or other low-growing plants to maintain visibility of your home.

• Avoid privacy fencing anywhere in front of the house.

• Use natural stone finishes for retaining walls.

• Use drought-resistant native plant species to save you from having to continuously water your lawn.

• Other than the permitted driveway width for your lot, paving in the front yard should be limited to only walkways and small areas leading to the front entrance.

landscape

Front yard with a native planting treat-ment

Guidelines for Infill Housing

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Guidelines for Infill Housing