Proposed Windsor Park Restrictive Covenant (RC)
What is a Restrictive Covenant?
An RC is an agreement among the signatories to restrict the use of their property to the terms set out in the RC. The RC agreement is registered at Land Titles and is binding on the current and future owners of the property. The purpose of an RC is to discourage or prevent developers from moving into a neighborhood. To be effective an RC requires the cooperation, consensus and commitment of a group of neighbors.
Proposed key terms:
1. Subdivision of existing properties is possible under the proposed RC
(e.g., One 50-foot-wide lot may be subdivided into two 25-foot-wide lots).
2. Permitted development: For each lot, (whether subdivided or not) there may be no more than one principal dwelling PLUS one subsidiary dwelling (“1 + 1 model”). The one subsidiary dwelling may be within the principal dwelling or may be an additional structure on the lot such as a garage suite, or garden suite or laneway home.
Under no circumstances is any multiplex permitted. “Multiplex” is any building with three or more dwelling units, including Single Occupancy Room(s) where each SOR counts as a dwelling unit. A duplex is permitted and consists of two dwelling units.
E.g., One 50-foot-wide lot may be subdivided into two 25- foot-wide lots each with two dwellings for a total of four dwellings on the formerly undivided 50-foot-wide lot.
3. The RC has no retroactive effect and does not affect present uses or structures
4. Upon registration on each property, the Restrictive Covenant continues for 50 years or until discharged.
5. Fees The RC team estimates fees of up to $300 per household. The fee will cover lawyer fees for searching your title, preparing, and registering the appropriate documents and reporting to you.
The Rationale:
An RC in this formulation is aimed to restrict developers from overly large buildings. For example, the current blanket “RS” zoning allows an 8 plex to be built on a fifty-foot-wide lot with 45% lot coverage and consisting of three levels above ground plus the basement. Such a structure may be upwards of 9,000 – 11,000 square feet with 20-24 bedrooms, each with its own en-suite bathroom.
Upzoning from RS to RSM 12 or 16 can result in much larger buildings of 12,000to 16,000 square feet, all on a fifty-foot-wide lot with lot coverages of up to 60% and greater numbers of bedrooms. Upzoning to RSM can allow an additional backyard house backing on to the lane, eliminating any on-site parking.
The proposed RC is intended to prevent these overly large buildings. This will also address issues such as off-site parking (i.e. on-street) of tenants along with reducing strains on infrastructure such as water supply, sewage, fire protection, etc. It also addresses shadowing, loss of privacy and other valid concerns.
Windsor Park has seen larger family homes built on redeveloped standard lots (50-70 foot wide) in the last few years, but none of those larger family homes have ever been half the size of the overly large buildings such as the 11,000 to 16,000 square foot multiplexes that are currently being built. The time to stop this excess is now.
The Windsor Park RC team is presenting this formulation of a proposed RC. It is based on a successful implementation of an RC in Crestwood. The team feels that Crestwood is very similar to Windsor Park in terms of age of the buildings and history of development:
• mostly built in the 1950s
• subsequent redevelopment in keeping with its character
• proximity to the River Valley
• family friendly housing stock
The RC is intended to preserve and enhance the value of your home.
Neighbours report significant loss of value when an eightplex is proposed or built beside them.
Real estate agents now highlight RC coverage as a selling feature because buyers want assurance against multiplexes.