Item - 2020.PH16.10

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council request that the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building, in consultation with the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services develop a publicly accessible guide detailing acceptable options along with mitigating measures to achieve compliance with the Ontario Building Code for fire access to Laneway Suites where the travel distance to the building from a fire apparatus on an access route exceeds a travel distance of 45 metres.

2. City Council request that the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building request that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing amend the Ontario Building Code to provide clarity for designers and homeowners by providing a broader range of fire access options to comply with the Ontario Building Code requirements that apply to Laneway Suites.

3. City Council request that the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building, in consultation with the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services work to facilitate the design and construction of other housing forms, in support of the City's housing strategy by:

a. Hiring a Building Code Consultant for technical consulting services to recommend options to achieve compliance with the Ontario Building Code for multi-tenant houses and other forms of additional units in accessory buildings; and,

b. Working in partnership with the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and   Standards; the Chief Planner and  Executive Director, City Planning, and the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, to incorporate the alternative options for compliance into the proposed regulatory framework for Multi-tenant Houses and "Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods".

This report responds to direction from the Planning and Housing Committee on July 13, 2020, which requested that the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building in collaboration with the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services, and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, explore and develop further opportunities for building designers to achieve compliance with the fire department access requirements for Laneway Suites.

Following City Council's decision to allow Laneway Suites across the city in 2019, Toronto Building worked with Toronto Fire Services to develop options and tools to assist homeowners in meeting Building Code requirements for fire access during the building permit stage. While the 2012 Ontario Building Code does not provide specific dimensional requirements for fire department access, Toronto Fire Services requires a level, unobstructed exterior path for firefighters no longer than 45 metres in length, with minimum dimensions of 1.0 metre-wide by 2.1 metres-high.

In cases where it is not possible to provide the minimum 1.0 metre-wide path of travel for firefighting access on the subject property, the City developed an option for property owners, where this required width may be shared with a neighbouring property, provided both owners enter into a Limiting Distance Agreement, or through the lane provided the path of travel is not more than 45 metres in length. Despite these additional options, some applicants proposing Laneway Suites still had difficulties meeting the fire access requirements. Following the implementation of these additional options and tools, the City continued to consider alternate approaches to emergency access based on experiences with applications for Laneway Suites and comments from the building industry. A Building Code Commission decision on this matter in 2019 was also helpful in informing the consideration of how to develop additional compliance options for designers and property owners.

This report summarizes how Toronto Building, in consultation with Toronto Fire Services, has responded to a new housing option and has developed innovative approaches to support the construction of Laneway Suites.

The review of fire department access requirements and the challenges these requirements create was carried out with support from a Building Code Consultant having expertise in fire protection engineering.  The Consultant identified acceptable measures that may allow an increase in the maximum permitted travel distance from a Laneway Suite entry to a fire apparatus on a public street to more than 45 metres. The Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building and the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services agree with the approach recommended by the Consultant and are working to share these options in more detail with the public.

Toronto Fire Services has also reviewed the current 1.0 metre-wide unobstructed path of travel requirement and is establishing a new standard of 0.9 metres (and allowing for building protrusions such as hydro and gas meters into this required path of travel).  The new requirement of 0.9 metres is the minimum width that will permit firefighters to respond effectively and efficiently to an emergency.  This minimum width is consistent with the typical residential side yard setback required in the Zoning By-law.

This review process conducted by City staff illustrates an opportunity for Toronto Building to continue to develop alternative solutions to Building Code challenges in order to support other City strategic objectives, including the provision of a diverse range of housing opportunities.  As a next step, this report recommends that the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building undertake a review of Code-related requirements for multi-tenant houses and other forms of additional units in accessory buildings in order to identify generic alternative solutions that all property owners and designers can use to more easily meet Code requirements. 

This report has been written in consultation with the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services, Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat.