I went into Oshawa City Hall this past week to see where things were at in regards to there new by-laws for coach houses. It turns out even though they have not yet passed the changes they have proposed to their by-laws they will accept submissions for coach houses!
So what do you, need to know!
Building
I had a fairly lengthy conversation with a building official going over the requirements for the submission. On top of what you will require with your submission in Clarington you will also need to complete hydraulic load calculations to determine the water requirements for the property. You will also have to have drawings indicating the depth of your sanitary and water lines showing that they remain under the frost line. If they do not remain under the frost line you will have to indicate how you will protect the pipes from freezing.
It may sound daunting to do hydraulic load calculations however there is a great benefit to having this as an option. If you can show you don’t have a load above the threshold of the existing waterline you won’t need to get an upgrade!
This can be big savings for your project and would be something to look at when creating your overall plan for your property.
Planning
For planning they are currently using the accessory structure by-law for there requirement’s for coach houses. As we went over in our presentations they are fairly restrictive.
I discussed this with the planner mentioning I would prefer to do larger buildings if possible and asked since this is fairly new are they open to variances to the by-law or will they be fairly rigid in upholding it?
I was told that Oshawa is open to intensification, if you do not receive resistance from neighbors you have a good chance of approval.
The planning department would prefer to see more lot coverage than building height in a variance application. They will not support second stories as well as they do not want the coach house to be taller than the primary building.
For submissions on top of what is required in Clarington you will need to complete a site alteration application. The site alteration application will have to be granted before they will issue your building permit.
We are in the preliminary stages of getting a coach house submitted with a client in Oshawa now and we couldn’t be more excited! If building a coach house in Oshawa is something you are interested in feel free to reach out!
Gentle intensification is what we need here in Ontario, more housing options the better for residents. As well as the more coach houses that are built the sooner we will get more long term financing options for our detached ADU’s.
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For any concerns or inquires you can reach us at info@northlakesdevelopments.ca or through our website contact page.