East-end residents worry they may lose garden suite zoning

Residents who have properties next to one of Toronto's narrowest streets say they're disappointed to learn the city is looking to amend local zoning by-law to disallow garden suites. 

Craven Road near Coxwell Station is about four metres wide. On one side are tiny historical homes built in the early 20th century and on the other, the backyards and garages of Parkmount Road homes. 

Garden suites as "a self-contained living accommodation located within an ancillary building, usually located in the rear yard, but not on a public lane," the city says on its website. 

But local councillor Paula Fletcher has introduced the motion asking city staff to review the area. She says Craven Road is too narrow and doesn't fit the criteria of the city's garden suite bylaw which was intended to accommodate "garden-to-garden" residences, where garden suites situated in backyards face other backyard residences. 

"Sometimes the city staff make a mistake," she said. "In this case, 99 per cent was right. This might be the outlier — .01 per cent — on this little strip of teeny tiny Craven Road. It just might not fit the category, so we're going to see."

Rebecca Rutledge moved onto Parkmount in 2021 with the hopes of building a garden suite in her backyard. She says she's disappointed her aspirations may not become a reality, and her neighbours feel the same. 

"We were kind of sold the dream…That was kind of our long-term vision," the mother-to-be told CBC Toronto. "But with this kind of change to the neighbourhood, we won't be able to fulfil that."

Meanwhile, some Craven Road residents say they want the city to stop any potential garden suites from being built in front of their homes. 

The city will be holding public consultations about the zoning amendments on Sept. 19.