RS zone, Toronto: Residential Semi-Detached Zone

What the RS zone permits

• Dwelling unit in a permitted residential building type (10.40.20.40)
• Municipal shelter
• Park
• Detached house
• Semi-detached house
• Duplex
• Triplex
• Fourplex
• Townhouse (only if the lot abuts a major street)
• Apartment building (only if the lot abuts a major street)
• With conditions (10.40.20.100): ambulance depot (1), cogeneration energy (2), community centre (3), day nursery (4), fire hall (1), garden suite (17), group home (5), home occupation (6), laneway suite (16), library (3), multi-tenant house (18), place of worship (8), police station (1), private home daycare (9), public utility (10, 11), renewable energy (2), secondary suite (12), seniors community house (13), short-term rental (15), transportation use (14)

Standards

Other provisions in this section

• Max one residential building per lot; more than one townhouse/apartment building (or combination) allowed on a lot abutting a major street (10.40.40.1(2)).
• Max building length 17.0 m for a permitted residential building (10.40.40.20(1)).
• Where required min lot frontage is more than 12.0 m, a detached or entire semi-detached house may extend 2.0 m beyond max building length if the extension is one storey, max 5.0 m high, no wider than 50% of the unit width, and at least 3.0 m from each side lot line (excluding the shared party side) (10.40.40.20(2)).
• Duplex/triplex/fourplex may have building length and building depth of 19.0 m if lot depth >= 36.0 m with frontage < 10.0 m, or lot depth >= 40.0 m with frontage >= 10.0 m (10.40.40.20(3), 10.40.40.30(2)).
• On a lot abutting a major street, max building length is 19.0 m for a townhouse and 25.0 m for an apartment building (10.40.40.20(4)).
• Max building depth: rear main wall of a detached or semi-detached house no more than 19.0 m from the required minimum front yard setback, excluding a compliant one-storey extension (10.40.40.30(1)).
• Main wall height: exterior main walls limited to the higher of 7.0 m above established grade or 2.5 m less than the max height, for either all side main walls (at least 70% of each wall's width) or all front and rear main walls (60% of width if lot frontage >= 12.0 m; 50% if > 7.5 m and < 12.0 m; 40% if <= 7.5 m); does not apply to townhouses/apartment buildings on a major street (10.40.40.10(2)).
• Lowest point of a pedestrian entrance through the front wall or a side main wall may be no higher than 1.2 m above established grade (10.40.40.10(4)).
• Dormer walls above a second storey are not main walls if in a roof above a compliant main wall and total dormer face width is no more than 40% of the width of the compliant main walls (10.40.40.10(5)).
• Flat or shallow roof (slope < 1:10 over more than 50% of roof area): additional main walls allowed above the main wall height limit if set back at least 1.4 m from the front and rear main walls below (10.40.40.10(6)).
• Platforms (decks/balconies) at or above the second storey of a detached house: max four total, no more than one per front, rear and each side, max 4.0 m² each (10.40.40.50(1)).
• Platforms at or above the second storey of a semi-detached house: max three per dwelling unit (one each on front, rear and side), max 4.0 m² each, rear platform at least 1.8 m from the common wall or its projection (10.40.40.50(2)).
• Platforms at or above the second storey of a duplex/triplex/fourplex: max two per dwelling unit, one each on front and rear; on a corner lot may also be on a main wall facing a street (10.40.40.50(3)).
• Separation between main walls of the same townhouse/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) (10.40.40.80(1)).
• Separation between townhouses/apartment buildings on the same lot abutting a major street: 5.5 m if no openings in one or more walls, 11.0 m if each wall has an opening to a dwelling unit (10.40.40.80(2)).
• Ancillary buildings and structures are governed by Article 10.5.60, not Article 10.40.40 (10.40.40.1(1)).
• Despite 900.1.10(3) and 900.1.10(4)(A), a duplex, triplex, fourplex, townhouse or apartment building is permitted if it complies with the RS regulations and the rest of the By-law, or is authorized by a Section 45 Planning Act minor variance (10.40.20.40(2)).
• 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 (10.40.20.100(1)).
• Cogeneration or renewable energy production must be combined with another permitted use on the lot and comply with all municipal, provincial and federal requirements (10.40.20.100(2)).
• Community centre or library must be City-operated, on a lot of 1,500 m² or less, and have a front or side lot line abutting a major street or a street intersecting a major street within 80.0 m of the intersection (10.40.20.100(3)).
• Place of worship (under appeal, not in full force): comply with Section 150.50; lot with front or side lot line on a major street, lot area at least 2,000 m², frontage at least 30 m; building max 2,000 m² GFA; lawfully existing places of worship exempt from the lot and GFA rules (10.40.20.100(8)).
• Private home daycare play area must be fenced and not in the front yard or a side yard abutting a street (10.40.20.100(9)).
• Public utility may not be a sewage treatment plant, water filtration plant or above-ground water reservoir; a hydro transformer or natural gas regulator station must be enclosed by walls and meet RS lot coverage, setbacks and height (10.40.20.100(10), (11)).
• Specific use regulations apply: day nursery s.150.45, group home s.150.15, home occupation s.150.5, secondary suite s.150.10, seniors community house s.150.30, short-term rental s.150.13, laneway suite s.150.8, garden suite s.150.7, multi-tenant house s.150.25; transportation use buildings must meet all building requirements for the lot (10.40.20.100(4)-(6), (12)-(18)).
• Category-wide rules in Section 10.5 and Chapter 5 also apply, including the front yard averaging rule (10.5.40.70(1)) and 2.5 m setback from a lane centreline (10.5.40.70(2)).