Is bigger always better? Not everyone agrees when it comes to 4-unit homes in Fredericton

Fredericton councillors have less than two weeks to weigh how they'll vote on a resolution that could spur greater density across the city by allowing most homes to be divided into four separate units.

If approved, the zoning bylaw amendment would usher in sweeping changes that would allow a homeowner to create up to three additional units in their home — without the need for permission from city council.

But while it's been decried by residents as a threat to the character of neighbourhoods, some housing experts say the changes include restrictions that could still limit their impact in creating new housing units.

"There needs to be an effort to say 'Yes' to multi-family housing, rather than say 'Yes, but ...' 'Yes, but ...' 'Yes, but ...' 'Yes, but ...'" said Carolyn Whitzman, a senior housing researcher at the University of Toronto. "And it sounds to me like there's a lot of yes, but-ing happening."

Fredericton city staff have put forward the proposed zoning bylaw changes as part of the conditions for receiving $10.3 million through Ottawa's Housing Accelerator Fund.

Municipalities apply for a piece of the $4-billion fund to pursue housing-related projects, with a key condition hinging on applicants loosening their zoning rules to make four units the maximum number that can be built on a residential lot.

WATCH | 4-unit homes allowed across the city? Don't expect wave of new housing, experts say:

Zoning changes to spur new housing in Fredericton no silver bullet, experts say

26 days ago

Duration 3:26

Zoning bylaw changes to allow almost every home to be split into four units are a necessary step to help spur the creation of new housing in Fredericton, but the effect will likely be slow and minimal, experts say.

Fredericton currently allows most residential properties to contain a maximum of two units, with a zoning amendment required if a homeowner wants to create more.

Some cities have already adopted or are in the process of adopting changes that would effectively allow a property owner to tear down a home and replace it with a fourplex.

However, Fredericton's proposal would only allow a property owner to create up to three extra units, in addition to the home's primary dwelling, along with regulations limiting the sizes of those units and requiring lots to be a certain size in order to qualify.

The case for loosening zoning rules

Zoning regulations in Canadian cities date back to the 1920s, with an original intent to separate homes from the areas where dirty, noisy industrial businesses were allowed to operate, said Whitzman.

In the 1970s, another wave of restrictive zoning rules swept Canadian cities in a way that demarcated large portions of residential areas as exclusively for single family homes.

Aside from segregating blocks of lower income people from more affluent residents, it also made it more difficult to construct multi-unit buildings, which in turn drove up the cost of existing homes.

Whitzman said urban planners have known about the negative impacts of exclusionary zoning but municipal councils have been reluctant to make meaningful changes because of vocal lobbying by homeowners.

She views the federal Housing Accelerator Fund as a necessary incentive to encourage local councils to make the politically unpopular decision to loosen zoning rules.

"We have to do something meaningful," Whitzman said. "Again, this isn't the magic bullet, but it's part of the answer."

Results from an early adopter

A push to loosen zoning rules that exclude anything but single detached homes in residential areas has swept North America in recent years.

Minneapolis, Minn, is considered one of the early adopters, with changes in 2020 that allowed triplexes to be built in areas formerly reserved for single detached homes, along with allowances for even denser six-unit buildings along main transit corridors.

The changes in Minneapolis were also met with criticism from residents concerned they would alter the character of their neighbourhoods, said Zak Yudishthu, a housing policy researcher focused on Minneapolis and its twin city of Saint Paul.

However, almost five years after their implementation, he said the changes haven't led to a significant number of new triplexes being built where they formerly weren't allowed.

"What we've seen in the first few years is there's been pretty limited development of those duplexes and triplexes — maybe a few dozen," Yudishthu said. "So, in total, that's maybe contributed a couple hundred housing units."

More restrictions, less uptake

While loosening zoning rules can help create more housing, any accompanying restrictions on how it can be done will limit uptake.

Yudishthu said in a "political compromise" to appease some residents, Minneapolis included restrictions that only allowed the footprint of a triplex to be half the square area of the lot it sits on, along with height restrictions preventing triplexes from being more than 2½ storeys.

Yudishthu said those regulations likely stymied the development of denser homes in Minneapolis and offer a hint of how strong the uptake might be if Fredericton adopts the changes it's considering.

"I think we've seen in places like Portland [Ore.] and Minneapolis, that with the potential to knock down and replace a single family home with a triplex, it doesn't happen that quickly. 

"So if that option is also off the table, I think that you would expect relatively slow or kind of weak response."

In Fredericton's case, a homeowner would have to build or renovate a house to create at least four units, with one of them needing to be larger than the rest — effectively disqualifying the typical fourplex model. 

Also, the size of a lot will determine how many additional units a property can accommodate. At least one parking space per unit will be required for homes outside the downtown and any additions to a home can't be taller in height than the main structure.

"The more regulations you retain ... it's probably not surprising that the impact is going to be lower than if you had a more permissive kind of zoning reform," said Daniel Kuhlmann, assistant professor of real estate and urban planning at the University of Arizona.

Kuhlmann said loosening zoning rules has the potential to encourage more diverse housing options.

But even in cities that have made more permissive reforms, change has been slow overall.

"These changes are always going to be slow and and, you know, development and redevelopment takes time, but I think it's ... moving generally in the right direction."

Fredericton has allowed one extra unit in most homes since the 1970s, and last year expanded that allowance to all low-rise residential lots across the city, said Shasta Stairs, spokesperson for the city, in an email.

City permits to create extra units have climbed from five in 2020 to 20 in 2024.

"Therefore, in the Fredericton context [secondary dwelling units] happen at a very gradual pace and are spread throughout the city," Stairs said.