November 6, 2025

Friends,

I am pleased to share that at City Council this week, Council approved increasing permissions for retail and services in neighbourhoods city-wide, so that the goods and services that residents need can be reached closer to home. The increased permission for retail and services are being advanced primarily on two types of street designations – ‘Major Streets’ and ‘Community Streets’.

The staff report on this item proposed increased permissions on Major Streets (where Council adopted permissions for apartment buildings up to six storeys and townhouses in June 2024), to allow a range of options mostly on the ground floor, including small stores, cafes, medical offices, after-school programs, cleaners, barbers and professional offices. More impactful uses are not permitted, for example: vehicle repair, animal shelter, payday loan, warehouse, and club.

City Council voted to adopt these staff recommendations with amendments that account for ward-specific considerations, resulting in the increased permissions being implemented on Major Streets in all 25 wards across Toronto.

To be permitted on Major Streets (ground floor only):

• Retail: All retail uses. This could include grocery/convenience stores, clothing, furniture, second-hand shops, among others.
• Dining: Cafés, restaurants (sit-down or take-out), licensed bars with patios.
• Personal & Pet Services: Examples include hair/nail salons, barbers, tattoo parlours, dry cleaners, pet grooming.
• Arts & Cultural: Music, dance, theatre, artist studios, art galleries.
• Recreation Uses: Examples include fitness clubs, bowling alleys, billiard halls, indoor rinks.
• Workshops: Custom, repair, or refurbishing shops, etc.

To be permitted on Major Streets (ground and second floors):

• Professional/Office: Medical, real estate, accounting, legal.
• Health/Other: Massage and wellness therapy, education, religious education.

The staff report also proposed permitting small-scale retail stores in neighbourhood interiors at properties adjacent to parks, schools, and existing commercial sites, as well as on corner lots on Community Streets. This includes option for stores to include ancillary eating or takeout eating service, allowing for the establishment of small, low impact neighbourhood cafés which serve beverages and food items prepared off-site.

Community Streets are generally those that are identified within the city’s Road Classification Map as Collectors or Minor Arterials and are not major streets. These streets are more likely to have sidewalks on both sides of the street, are more likely to have bicycle infrastructure and public transit service, and are typically through-streets that connect to nearby major streets making them the primary pedestrian corridors with easy access to/from other neighbourhood streets.  A ward-specific collection of maps demonstrating the location of Community Streets can be reviewed here: Attachment 2: Neighbourhood Interiors Zoning By-law Amendment.

Thanks to a successful amendment championed by Mayor Chow, City Council voted to move forward on adopting these permissions for neighbourhood interior small-scale retail in Toronto and East York District (which includes our Ward 4), while allowing for other wards to opt-in by request in the future. I encourage you to review the full item here.

The progress on this item is a significant advancement of our City’s goal to develop more complete and walkable communities city-wide, and demonstrates that when we engage respectfully and collaboratively in dialogue with one another, we can forge paths that all of Toronto can move forward on together.

Sincerely,

Friends,

We are seeing the City’s new role as a public builder pay off. Today at Planning and Housing Committee, City staff presented the City’s annual report on the City’s Housing Action Plan for 2020 - 2030, reporting significant progress on all five pillars of the City’s housing priorities. Key highlights from the report include:

• Creating New Homes - Approved a record of 6,366 new rent-controlled homes in 2024, achieving 46% of the City’s overall target of 65,000 approved rent-controlled homes by 2030
• Protecting and preserving existing homes - Secured more than 700 permanent affordable homes through the Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition (MURA) Program
• Supporting renters and improving housing stability - Adopted the Rental Renovation Licence By-law, which came into effect in 2025, to protect renters from bad faith renovation-related evictions, or “renovictions”
• Prioritizing diverse housing needs - Supported more than 4,600 people experiencing homelessness to move into permanent homes through initiatives like Rapid Rehousing Initiative and Priority Access to Housing and Supports (PATHS)
• Transforming housing policies - Adopted Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendments to permit townhouses and small-scale apartment buildings on lots designated as Neighbourhoods and abutting a major street, which is projected to create 41,083 new homes by 2051.

These interventions along with targeted incentives by the City are helping to steer developers towards building the affordable rental units residents need to live in Toronto.  

Whereas projects that rely on the private market alone have stalled, the City’s Public Developer housing projects are moving forward to deliver rent-controlled homes. This is demonstrated by the fact that in the first eight months of 2025, City-led and City-supported projects account for 65% of all housing starts achieved this year.

The staff report makes clear that while the City has successfully modelled how government action can bolster the supply of new homes, these solutions need to be supported through adequate investment from other orders of government to meet the scale of our present housing crisis. I will continue to use my voice and vote on Council to support the growth of affordable rental housing options in our city.  

Sincerely,

Friends,

I am happy to share that the City’s commitment to expanding access to Toronto Public Library (TPL) branches has reached a new milestone. Starting October 19, all 100 branches are now open on Sundays from 12 – 5pm, except on holiday weekends.  

For the first time, every neighbourhood in Toronto will have Sunday access to public libraries and the meeting spaces, technology, books and programming that they provide. This expansion is in response to growing community demand. When TPL increased open hours in 2024, participating branches recorded a 44% increase in visits compared to the same period the previous year. Usage of our TPL – the biggest and busiest public library system in North America – continues to rise, with 81% of Toronto residents accessing TPL services.

Sunday library service in our neighbourhoods represent students finding quiet study space, families attending programs together, and job seekers accessing computers and career resources, for free and close to home.

I also want to highlight that the Toronto Public Library co-presented the winner of the 2025 Toronto Book Awards last week. Since 1974, the awards have honoured works that capture Toronto’s spirit, reflect its diversity and deepen understanding of life in the city. The full list of 2025 Toronto Book Awards titles can be explored here: 2025 Toronto Book Awards : Toronto Public Library

When we invest in our libraries, all Toronto residents’ benefit from increased access to welcoming community spaces, resources, and opportunities for connection and learning. I will continue to support progressive investments in our library system, as our City works towards the addition of more weekday hours and seven days a week service in all 100 branches in 2026.

Sincerely,