RD zone, Toronto: Residential Detached Zone

What the RD zone permits

• Dwelling unit in a permitted residential building type (10.20.20.40)
• Detached house
• Duplex
• Triplex
• Fourplex
• Townhouse (only if the lot abuts a major street)
• Apartment building (only if the lot abuts a major street)
• Municipal shelter
• Park
• Ambulance depot (with conditions, 10.20.20.100(1))
• Cogeneration energy (with conditions, (2))
• Community centre (with conditions, (3))
• Day nursery (with conditions, (4); Section 150.45)
• Fire hall (with conditions, (1))
• Garden suite (with conditions, (17); Section 150.7)
• Group home (with conditions, (5); Section 150.15)
• Home occupation (with conditions, (6); Section 150.5)
• Laneway suite (with conditions, (16); Section 150.8)
• Library (with conditions, (3))
• Multi-tenant house (with conditions, (18); Section 150.25)
• Place of worship (with conditions, (8); Section 150.50)
• Police station (with conditions, (1))
• Private home daycare (with conditions, (9))
• Public utility (with conditions, (10), (11))
• Renewable energy (with conditions, (2))
• Secondary suite (with conditions, (12); Section 150.10)
• Seniors community house (with conditions, (13); Section 150.30)
• Short-term rental (with conditions, (15); Section 150.13)
• Transportation use (with conditions, (14))

Standards

Other provisions in this section

• Maximum one residential building per lot; more than one townhouse or apartment building (or combination) is permitted on a lot abutting a major street (10.20.40.1(2)).
• A building with dwelling units may not be located in the rear of another building (or original part of the same building), nor in front of one so as to create that condition; does not apply to townhouses/apartments on a major street (10.20.40.1(3)).
• Main wall height (10.20.40.10(2)): the exterior of main walls is limited to the higher of 7.0 m above established grade or 2.5 m less than the permitted maximum height, for either all side main walls over at least 70% of their width, or all front and rear main walls over at least 60% (lot frontage 12.0 m or more), 50% (frontage >7.5 m and <12.0 m) or 40% (frontage 7.5 m or less) of their width; not applicable to townhouses/apartments on a major street.
• Flat or shallow roof (slope less than 1:10 over more than 50% of roof area) (10.20.40.10(4)): all main walls limited to the higher of 7.2 m above established grade or 2.5 m less than the maximum height; additional main walls above that must be set back at least 1.4 m from the front and rear main walls below; not applicable to townhouses/apartments on a major street.
• A parapet on a flat/shallow-roof residential building may exceed the main wall height limit by up to 0.3 m (10.20.40.10(5)).
• Lowest point of the main pedestrian entrance through the front or a side main wall may be no higher than 1.2 m above established grade (10.20.40.10(6)).
• Dormer walls are not main walls if the dormer sits in a roof directly above a main wall that complies with the main wall height and the total dormer face width is no more than 40% of the width of those compliant main walls (10.20.40.10(7)).
• Attic floor area meeting 10.5.40.40(1) used for mechanical equipment and not exceeding 20 m² is not a storey (10.20.40.10(8)).
• Altered roof of a lawfully existing residential building may not have a slope of less than 1:4 over more than 50% of the roof area, in addition to 10.5.40.11(3) (10.20.40.11(1)).
• Maximum building length 17.0 m where the required minimum lot frontage is 18.0 m or less (10.20.40.20(1)).
• On lots with a required minimum lot frontage of more than 12.0 m to 18.0 m, a detached house may extend up to 2.0 m beyond the maximum building length with a one-storey part no higher than 5.0 m, no wider than 50% of the building's widest width, and at least 3.0 m from each side lot line (10.20.40.20(2)).
• Duplex/triplex/fourplex may have a maximum building length and building depth of 19.0 m if lot depth is 36.0 m or more with frontage under 10.0 m, or lot depth 40.0 m or more with frontage 10.0 m or more (10.20.40.20(3), 10.20.40.30(2)).
• On a lot abutting a major street, maximum building length is 19.0 m for a townhouse and 25.0 m for an apartment building (10.20.40.20(4)).
• Maximum building depth: where the required minimum lot frontage is 18.0 m or less, the rear main wall of a detached house may be no more than 19.0 m from the required front yard setback, excluding a compliant one-storey extension (10.20.40.30(1)).
• Platforms (decks/balconies) at or above the second storey of a detached house: maximum four in total, no more than one on each of the front, rear and each side, each no more than 4.0 m² (10.20.40.50(1)).
• Platforms at or above the second storey of a duplex, triplex or fourplex: maximum 2 per dwelling unit, no more than one on each of the front and rear of the unit; on a corner lot a platform may also be on a main wall facing a street (10.20.40.50(3)).
• Exterior sides of a lawfully existing platform enclosed under former City of Toronto By-law 438-86 are not main walls where the area is not subject to lot coverage (10.20.40.50(2)).
• Separation between main walls of the same townhouse or apartment building on a major street where one wall projects onto another: 2.0 m (no openings), 5.5 m (openings in one wall), 11.0 m (openings in both) (10.20.40.80(1)).
• Separation between two or more townhouses/apartment buildings on the same lot abutting a major street: 5.5 m if no openings in one or more of the facing main walls; 11.0 m if each has an opening (10.20.40.80(2)).
• Ancillary buildings and structures are governed by Article 10.5.60, not Article 10.20.40 (10.20.40.1(1)).
• Ambulance depot, fire hall or police station must front on a major street, or on a street intersecting a major street within 250 m of the intersection (10.20.20.100(1)).
• Community centre or library must be operated by or for the City, be on a lot of 1500 m² or less, and have a front or side lot line abutting a major street or a street intersecting a major street with the lot within 80.0 m of the intersection (10.20.20.100(3)).
• Place of worship (clause under appeal, not in full force): comply with Section 150.50; lot with front or side lot line abutting a major street, lot area at least 2,000 m², lot frontage at least 30 m; building no more than 2,000 m² gross floor area; lawfully existing places of worship exempt from the lot and GFA requirements (10.20.20.100(8)).
• Private home daycare play area must be fenced and not in the front yard or a side yard abutting a street (10.20.20.100(9)).
• Public utility may not be a sewage treatment plant, water filtration plant or above-ground water reservoir; a hydro transformer station or natural gas regulator station must be enclosed by walls and meet the zone's lot coverage, setbacks and height (10.20.20.100(10), (11)).
• Cogeneration or renewable energy production must be combined with another permitted use on the lot (10.20.20.100(2)).
• Duplex, triplex, fourplex, townhouse or apartment building is a permitted building type despite 900.1.10(3) and 900.1.10(4)(A) if it complies with the RD regulations, or is authorized by a Section 45 Planning Act minor variance (10.20.20.40(2)).
• Buildings in the Residential Zone category must be at least 2.5 m from the original centreline of a lane (10.5.40.70(2)).