Skip to content

Burlington council votes to support 4-unit residential properties

The approval aligns with city's Housing Accelerator Fund application for $40 million
2023-06-20-burlington-city-hall
City council members voted to unanimously approve four-unit residential properties in Burlington.

Burlington council members unanimously voted today to approve a motion to support allowing four-unit residential properties. 

The motion, brought to council by Ward 4 councillor Shawna Stolte and Ward 3 councillor Rory Nisan, will add housing to Burlington while not changing the city’s look and landscape too much, Mayor Marianne Meed Ward wrote on her website.

The motion aligns with conditions of approval for Housing Accelerator Fund applications, which was submitted by the city of Burlington on Aug. 18, and asked for $40 million in federal funding. 

“All parts of Canada, including Burlington, are in the midst of a housing crisis,” Stolte said, while reading from the motion memo. “And whereas on June 21, 2022, Burlington City Council unanimously approved the city’s first-ever housing strategy that set out 12 key actions to drive the overall vision for housing in Burlington.”

Of the 12 actions, three were key: supporting a healthy rental housing stock, supporting a broad variety of housing types and forms, and building awareness and capacity. 

The new four-unit residential properties may be smaller than other units, but with that may come better affordability, and as a result – a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse community, the motion stated. 

“I have three kids in their 20s who are still living at home,” Mayor Marianne Meed Ward says. “Personally, I love it. But they don’t have a choice. There’s nowhere for them to go and even if there was, they couldn’t afford it.”

The mayor added that there is a need in Burlington to ensure ghost neighbourhoods – sprawls of empty houses or apartments – aren’t being built, and that people are living in these new housing units. 

Council will work with city staff and in consultation with residents to determine how to accommodate the new units and incorporate them into municipal bylaws, the mayor noted on her website.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks