BUILDING DURHAM

On Friday, February 26, 2021, OHBA hosted a technical committee meeting that featured a presentation by Michael Lio of buildABILITY: "Guidance for the OBC 2022 Requirements for Stairs, Guards and Handrails."

Amendments to the stairs, guards and handrails provisions will come into force on January 1, 2022.

Part of the amendments to the code include new definitions for flight, run and tapered tread.  These new definitions are:

• Flight - a series of steps between landings
• Run - the horizontal distance between two adjacent tread nosings on a stair.
• Tapered Tread - a tread with non-parallel edges that increases or decreases its run uniformly over its width.

Key Changes

Spiral Stairs

In Section 9.8.3.1 is the introduction of (c) spiral stairs, added as a permission.  This is in addition to the previous (a) straight flights and (b) curved flights.  This addition comes with requirements, as outlined in 9.8.4.5A. Spiral Stairs:

a)      handrails on both sides, the outer handrail being not less than 1,070 mm high,

b)      a clear width not less than 660 mm between handrails,

c)      risers that are not more than 240 mm high,

d)     treads that,

 i.         are a minimum of 190 mm deep at a point 300 mm from the centre line of the inside handrail,

 ii.      have a consistent angle and uniform dimension, and

 iii.      turn in the same direction, and

e)      a clear height not less than 1,980 mm.

In addition,

2.  Spiral stairs conforming to Sentence (1) are permitted to be used as the only means of egress where they serve not more than 3 persons.

3.  Except as permitted by Sentence (2), spiral stairs shall not serve as an exit.

Runs

In the new code that will come into effect in January of 2022, the minimum run for rectangular treads has increased from 210 mm (8 1/4") to 255 mm (10").

This change has been a long time in the making, as the code change request was made in 1992, and was introduced in the NBCC in 2015.

Prior to implementing these changes, the National Research Council's Joint Task Group on Step Geometry did a substantial amount of research, and consulted many data sources, including:

• Most recent data available
• Canadian data and research
• International data and research
• Common practice

Canada already has some of the steepest stairs worldwide, with a max stair steepness of 44°, compared to the UK at 42°, the US and Australia at 38°.

When looking into fall injuries, the National Research Council's Assessment of Health Burdens found that:

• 21%  of all unintentional falls resulting in severe injuries are stair-related falls
• 82% of stair falls occur in residential settings.

In 2012, residential stair incidents included:

• 314 deaths
• 8,822 hospitalizations (including 820 brain injuries)
• 97,045 ER visits with no hospital admission
• $476 million in direct healthcare spending

It is noted that step geometry is the most critical factor relating to falls.  The research shows that shorter runs result in loss of balance, slipping off steps and missteps by tripping, overstepping, heel scuff, crabbing and foot overhang, while larger runs offer more space for better foot placement and larger foot sizes, and create greater margins of stability.  Canadian studies have shown that there is no direct correlation between fall incidence and rise (between 7" and 8"), but there is a direct correlation between fall incidence and run.  The new rise dimensions are estimated to reduce falls by 64%.

The new dimensions for runs will have an impact on the floor area.  The change will require an additional 6.3 square feet for 8-foot ceilings and 7.3 square feet for 9-foot ceilings.  It is estimated that over 118,000 starts, the economic impact will be $267 million for 8-foot ceilings and $290 million for 9-foot ceilings.

Tapered Treads

Section 9.8.4.3 - Dimensions for Tapered Treads has also been amended, and now reads as follows:

1.      tapered treads shall have a run that,

b.  complies with the dimensions for rectangular treads specified in Table 9.8.4.1. (i.e. 255 mm) when measured at a point 300 mm from the centre line of the inside handrail.

4.   Tapered treads in a flight shall have a uniform run in accordance with the tolerances described in Sentence (3) when measured at a point 300 mm from the centre line of the inside handrail.

a.      5 mm between adjacent treads, and

b.      10 mm between the deepest and shallowest treads in a flight.

Section 9.8.4.4A. Uniformity of Runs in Flights with Mixed Treads within a House or Dwelling Unit has been amended to as follows:

1.    where a flight consists of both tapered treads and rectangular treads, all the treads shall have a uniform run when measured at a point 300 mm from the centre line of the inside handrail.

2.      where tapered treads are located at the bottom of a mixed-tread flight of the run of the tapered treads when measured at a point 300 mm from the centre line of the inside handrail is permitted to exceed the run of the rectangular treads.

Section 9.8.3.1. Straight and Curved Runs in Stairs has been amended to read:

2. (b) flights with a mix of rectangular and tapered treads provided all tapered treads within a flight turn in the same direction.

Handrails

Section 9.8.7.1. Required Handrails has been amended to:

5.  Except for stairs with winders, where a flight of stairs within a house or an individual dwelling unit consists of tapered treads, or a mix of tapered treads and rectangular treads, one handrail shall be installed along the narrow end of the treads.

Section 9.8.7.4. Height of Handrails has been amended to:

Handrails shall be 865 mm to 1070 mm high (from 965 mm).

Section 9.8.7.5. Ergonomic Design has been amended to:

1.  The clearance between a handrail and any surface behind it shall be not less than,

(a) 60 mm, if the surface behind the handrail is rough or abrasive, or

(b) 50 mm, in all other cases.

Jerry Coughlan, the founder of Coughlan Homes and Deer Creek Golf & Banquet Facility, has passed away.

Jerry founded Coughlan Homes in 1958 with on developing affordable, quality homes in the east end of Toronto, and built the first of what would become many houses in East York.  After realizing the potential for development in surrounding areas, Jerry focused his efforts further east into Scarborough, Pickering and then Ajax.

Through Jerry's hard work and a focused ambition, Coughlan Homes became an established community builder and as Jerry demonstrated his commitment to quality and craftsmanship, along with a keen eye for detail, the company earned a strong reputation that continues to this day.

Jerry enjoyed many sports and initially entered the golf business with a partnership in Glen Cedars Golf Club.  He later assembled land to build Deer Creek Golf Club and Salem Ridge Golf & Academy - his vision fulfilled.

From his early years in business, Jerry recognized the importance of the community within which his businesses operated.  Jerry was known for his generous contributions to Durham charities, including Lakeridge Health, Grandview Kids and The Salvation Army.  Most recently, Jerry's contributions paved the way for the Jerry Coughlan Health & Wellness Centre - a four-storey outpatient medical and community health centre in Pickering, designed to provide a range of health care services to those within the surrounding community.

Jerry's legacy will be remembered for generations as the communities he built continue to flourish, and the companies he founded continue to grow, providing employment and philanthropic contributions to the surrounding community.

Jerry will be greatly missed by his family, friends and those who knew him well. 

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to McEachnie Funeral Home in Ajax.  Please visit their website for information on the funeral services.

The City of Pickering is concluding Phase 1 of the Comprehensive Zoning By-law Review, as such staff have prepared a report to Council presenting the key findings and recommendations from the 8 discussion papers completed withing Phase 1 and comments received from the public and stakeholders.  In addition, the City's consultant, WSP, will present an overview of the discussion papers.

The meeting will take place on Monday, March 22, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.

View more information on the meeting here.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to Tanjot Bal or Deborah Wylie at the City of Pickering.

The Town of Whitby released their Development Charge Background Study today.

The background study is proposing a 66% increase on single detached homes, from $23,868 to $40,544, a difference of $16,126.

Previously, the Town of Whitby has proposed a new rate of $43,366, however, DRHBA is working with a stakeholder group and consults and their initial work has decreased the proposed increase by $2,822.  This stakeholder group will continue to work with municipal staff and Whitby's consultants, Hemson, to further reduce the charge.

The mandatory public meeting has been scheduled for Monday, March 8, 2021 at 5:30 p.m.  It can be viewed at www.whitby.ca/livestream.

Correspondence can be submitted to the meeting by emailing clerk@whitby.ca no later than noon on Friday, March 5, 2021.

If you wish to make a delegation at the meeting, you will need to complete a Delegation Request Form online by noon on March 8, 2021.

The new development charge bylaw will be brought to council in April, and if passed, will come into effect in May, 2021.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Stacey.

This morning, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark made an announcement that the government is going to begin consultations on ways to potentially  grow the Greenbelt.

OHBA will be actively involved in the 60 day consultation process and will be forming a working group comprised of members who are interested in participating.  If you would like to be a part of this group and participate in the consultation process, please email Stacey.

The consultation is scoped to two main study areas: the Paris Galt Moraine and Urban River Valleys.  The Urban River Valleys contains land in Durham Region that will be a part of the consultation.  You can view the map here.

The Urban River Valleys in Durham Region are:

• Rouge River - Pickering
• Duffins Creek - Ajax
• Carruthers Creek - Ajax
• Lynde Creek - Whitby
• Oshawa Creek - Oshawa
• Farewell/Harmony Creeks - Oshawa
• Soper Creek/Bowmanville Creek - Clarington
• Wilmot Creek - Clarington
• Graham Creek - Clarington

Other Provincial Priorities

In deciding on where and how to possibly grow the Greenbelt, they must also consider other key provincial priorities that could be impacted. These key provincial priorities include:

Growth Management - Overall, the Greenbelt Plan broadly identifies where urbanization should not occur and A Place to Grow directs the majority of growth to fully serviced settlement areas. Currently, municipalities are working towards updating their official plans by 2022 to conform with the revised growth forecasts in Schedule 3 of A Place to Grow. Therefore, Greenbelt expansion needs to be considered in the context of these growth management exercises by municipalities.

Natural Heritage and Water Resource Systems - The Greenbelt Plan and A Place to Grow are aligned with and build on the Provincial Policy Statement to provide policy protection for natural heritage and water resource systems, features and areas, including habitat for endangered and threatened species. Both the Greenbelt Plan and A Place to Grow contain policies supporting and protecting a Natural Heritage System that is made up of these natural features and areas along with the linkages that connect them together. Similarly, policies in these plans protect water resource systems on a watershed basis, with the Greenbelt incorporating significant headwaters, river corridors, wetlands and other features.

Agriculture - The Greater Golden Horseshoe contains some of Canada’s best agricultural land. Both the Greenbelt Plan and A Place to Grow have policies supporting and protecting an Agricultural System that is comprised of an agricultural land base (prime agricultural areas, including specialty crop areas, and other productive lands that form a continuous land base for agriculture) and an agri-food network (infrastructure, services and assets that support the agri-food sector).

 Infrastructure - Both the Greenbelt Plan and A Place to Grow recognize that new infrastructure and upgrades to existing infrastructure will be needed to serve the substantial growth projected for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Infrastructure, including highways to sewage and water treatment plants to corridors for transit and utilities, is permitted in these plans subject to certain conditions.

Discussion Questions

During the consultation process, the provincial government will be focused on these questions:

• What are your thoughts on the initial focus area of adding, expanding and further protecting Urban River Valleys?
• Do you have suggestions for other potential areas to grow the Greenbelt?
• How should the government balance or prioritize any potential Greenbelt expansion with the other provincial priorities mentioned?
• Are there other priorities that should be considered?

Next Steps

If you want to become involved in this consultation process, contact Stacey about joining the OHBA working team or send in your comments directly to greenbeltconsultation@ontario.ca

Resources

View the notice here: https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-3136

At the February 8, 2021 Clarington Council meeting, council heard from delegates and debated the merits of hosting a public meeting in April to determine if Special Study Area 2 should be deleted from the Clarington Official Plan.

Council heard from several delegates, some who were concerned that council was looking to recommend to the province that more land be included in the greenbelt.  Council assured delegates that there were no plans to expand the greenbelt in Clarington.

Other delegates expressed concern that staff would need to be taken off the secondary plans that are currently well under way to facilitate organizing the public meeting in April. 

As stated in the staff report COPA2021-0001:

"To undertake this Official Plan Amendment staff in the Community Planning and Design Branch would be diverted from the Brookhill, Southwest Courtice (SWC) and the Southeast Courtice (SEC) Secondary Plan projects.  For both the Brookhill and SWC Secondary Plan, this will mean the delay of bringing forward recommendation reports to adopt the Secondary Plans.  For the SEC Secondary Plan, this will mean staff will be delayed in responding to the Region of Durham as they process the approval of the Secondary Plan.  In addition, staff will be delayed in preparing the zoning by-law amendments needed to implement the Secondary Plans.  Delaying these projects will also have the consequence of constraining the housing supply and building activity within the next few years in Clarington."

DRHBA requested that council move the public meeting to a later date to allow staff to complete their work on the secondary plans before moving on to this project. 

Staff also recommended that the public meeting be postponed, as stated in file no. COPA2021-0001:

"Provided that Council acknowledges there will be delays in projects that Council have accepted funding from land-owner groups to advance; Staff would bring forward a Statutory Public Meeting Report at the April 26, 2021 Planning and Development Committee.

As outlined previously, our recommendation is that the Official Plan amendment be part of the Clarington Official Plan review to be initiated this year.  By being part of the OP review, Council will be able to comprehensively look at the whole municipality to the year 2051, the new planning horizon for official plans."

Ultimately, Council voted in favour of hosting the public meeting in April, despite the potential delays to the Secondary Plans.

Council voted unanimously to pass Resolution #C-058-21, which reads:

That staff issue the necessary notices for a public meeting under the Planning Act to be held on April 26, 2021, for the consideration of the deletion of Special Study Area 2 from the Clarington Official Plan.

Consultations could result in largest expansion of the protected lands since 2005

TORONTO ― The Ontario government has launched a 60-day consultation to grow the Greenbelt and help protect more of the province's natural environment — including farmlands, forests, wetlands and watersheds — from future development. The consultations could result in the largest expansion of the greenbelt since its creation in 2005.

"This is truly a unique opportunity to grow the Greenbelt and protect Ontario's environmental, groundwater and agricultural resources for future generations," said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. "The Premier has been steadfast in his commitment to protect the Greenbelt and our government will not consider any proposals to remove or develop any part of it."

The government is seeking public input on how best to grow the size and quality of the Greenbelt, including:

• the Paris Galt Moraine
• adding, expanding and further protecting urban river valleys, and increasing the Greenbelt's footprint into high density urban areas including the areas around the Don River in Toronto and land around Duffins Creek in Ajax and Pickering.

Comments are welcome by email: greenbeltconsultation@ontario.ca or through the Environmental Registry of Ontario by April 19, 2021.

*to enlarge ad right click and select open in new window*

The City of Pickering is undertaking a comprehensive Housing Strategy Study that will provide a framework to ensure the City enables a supply of suitable, adequate and affordable housing for the present and future residents of Pickering. The Housing Strategy Study will focus on the need for delivering a diverse range of housing options, including affordable and accessible units to accommodate residents of all ages, abilities and income levels.

The City of Pickering will be hosting an electronic meeting from 2:30 - 4:30 PM on Thursday, February 25^th, targeted to the building/development and government/not-for-profit sector involved in housing/affordable housing. The meeting will provide interested organizations the opportunity to learn more about the Housing Strategy Study, ask questions and provide feedback. The Study is recently launched and in its first phase.

If you are interested in joining the meeting, please respond to Margaret Kish at mkish@pickering.ca by noon on Wednesday, February 24^th. Please ensure that you provide the email address you wish to be contacted at so that you can be connected via audio and video to the meeting. You will be provided with an electronic link prior to the meeting in a separate email.

There will be a short presentation of the overview of the Study by the project team at 2:30 pm followed by an opportunity to ask questions and share your thoughts on affordable housing. Attached are some Stakeholder Discussion Questions to get the discussion started. You are encouraged to review these questions and the information about the Study on the City’s website at pickering.ca/Housing Strategy prior to the electronic meeting.

Your comments will help inform the development of a Draft Housing Strategy and Action Plan that will be presented to the public, stakeholders and the Planning & Development Committee for comments at a future date.

Your comments and/or questions regarding the Housing Strategy Study can be forwarded to:

Margaret Kish, MCIP, RPP

Principal Planner, Policy

City Development Department

Tel: 905.420.4660, ext. 2196

Email: mkish@pickering.ca

For more information please visit our website at pickering.ca/Housing Strategy

More information is also available in this information package.

At the January 18th, 2021 meeting, Clarington council passes their new Development Charge Bylaw.

The new bylaw can be found here and here.  The new bylaw increases the development charge from $18,148 to $21,461, an increase of 18% ($3,313) for a single detached home.

DRHBA worked with a stakeholder group, and notified council of a few outstanding issues in this letter.

DRHBA is also aware that Clarington may need to amend their DC Bylaw within the next few years as their secondary plans move forward, and will notify members if this happens.

MPP Lindsey Park will be hosing a virtual town hall on the GO Train expansion to Bowmanville on Tuesday February 2 at 7:00 p.m with Metrolinx President & CEO Phil Verster.

This is an opportunity for you to hear directly from Metrolinx on the Bowmanville GO Train expansion project and to ask your questions of the Metrolinx team.  Questions may be submitted during the event.  No RSVP is required.

A link to the townhall page will be posted here one hour before the start of the event.