What candidates say about building apartments next to your bungalow

Housing is one of the main issues on the municipal campaign trail as candidates share their visions for the future of the city.

Ottawa city council approved a growth blueprint, called the Official Plan, last year, but it has yet to get the green light from the provincial government. The blueprint includes a focus on intensification, building more housing in denser space, usually by building multi-unit homes, or building up instead of out, though the plan also includes an expansion of the city’s urban boundary.

The character of neighbourhoods, however, is a perennial discussion, with residents in neighbourhoods dominated by single-family homes—known as “R1 zoning”—sometimes expressing opposition to intensification nearby.

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“(R1 zoning) is really restrictive in terms of what we can do, in terms of the type of housing and the density that we can have in the existing city,” says Jason Burggraaf, the executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association.

“Ottawa essentially does need to eliminate its R1 zoning. It’s got a very aggressive intensification target of 90,000 homes over the next 25 years to be accommodated within existing neighbourhoods. So, the only way we’re going to achieve that target is by eliminating R1 zoning and allowing more intensification–semis, long semis with apartments–what have you.”

That R1 zoning was brought up on the campaign trail Monday when mayoral candidate Bob Chiarelli vowed to protect neighbourhoods, arguing, “Unlike my opponent to the left, I do not support killing off Ottawa’s single-family neighbourhoods.”

Chiarelli said he believes intensification can be achieved in other ways, including use of city-owned land, building housing above existing commercial space, and fast-tracking approvals for adding basement and attic suites.

Here is what other mayoral candidates told CTV News Ottawa:

Mike Maguire:

“I don’t support that. People who are in R1 right now, they’ve invested their life savings in their homes, they deserve to have the confidence that that will be in their possession for many, many generations to come.”

Catherine McKenney:

“In most cases, this will allow for, say, a duplex to replace a single-family home, or a low- or mid-rise unit building on a secondary corridor like Gladstone; it is not a shocking change in any way.”

Param Singh:

“I’m not for scrapping R1.”

Mark Sutcliffe:

“I think we have to consult more, and make sure people are comfortable with the intensification that’s happening, but I don’t support a blanket removal of R1.”

Other candidates have commented on the issue already. Brandon Bay says he would like to see an end to R1 zoning. His platform includes allowing the construction of duplexes, triplexes and townhomes city-wide. Nour Kadri said he would like to increase density in targeted areas, particularly those close to transit hubs and schools.

Election Day is Oct. 24. There are two advance voting days this Friday and next Friday ahead of the main vote.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Peter Szperling.