Neighbourhood Retail & Services

We want to hear from you! The City of Toronto is proposing zoning changes to make it easier to open small, local businesses in and around residential neighbourhoods.
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Learn what’s proposed and provide your feedback on building connected, vibrant communities. 

  • Major Streets: On major streets, the proposed changes would allow a wide range of options,  including small stores, cafes, medical offices, after-school programs, cleaners, barbers and professional offices.
  • Neighbourhood Interior: In the interior of neighbourhoods, off the major streets, permissions would be limited to a small retail store with the option for a cafe within the store.  These would be permitted on corner lots or next to schools, parks or commercial sites.
  • Home-Based Businesses: Updated permissions would allow home-based businesses (called “home occupations” in the Zoning By-law) to hire up to two employees, operate from detached garages or laneway buildings and, depending on the business, to see clients on-site.  This would help more residents start or grow a business from home.
  • Minimizing Adverse Impacts: The zoning updates are designed to minimize impacts on neighbours by setting clear size limits, requiring garbage to be stored indoors and limiting most businesses to the ground floor.
  • Other By-Laws: Impact on neighbours is also controlled through various existing city by-laws dealing with things like noise, waste, property standards and patios.
  • Growing Demand: These changes respond to growing demand for nearby shops and services – particularly as more people work from home and new housing is added to low-rise areas through the City’s housing initiatives.
  • Monitoring: The City will monitor how these changes are used over the next two years and report back with any recommended refinements to support implementation.  Multiple divisions will coordinate on this.

      Small-Scale Retail, Service and Office Uses

      Policy 4.1.3 of Toronto’s Official Plan notes that small-scale retail, service and office uses support daily life in Neighbourhoods and encourage complete, connected communities, contributing to amenity, sustainability, equity, diversity and vitality.

      Some examples of these commercial uses in Neighbourhoods include small grocery or convenience stores, dry cleaners, cafes, medical services such as physiotherapy, and personal services such as a barber or tailor, as well as home offices, and community gathering spaces, including art galleries and social services.

      In the former City of Toronto, these uses in Neighbourhoods are typically found in one to three storey buildings, often with residential uses in same building – above, beside or behind the commercial use. In Etobicoke, York, North York and Scarborough, they are often found in small plazas without residential permissions, as well as some standalone stores.

      Throughout Toronto, some of these uses can also be found in home-based businesses, defined as “Home Occupations” in the Zoning By-law.

      Study Area – Neighbourhoods

      This project is focussed on the parts of the City designated as Neighbourhood in the City of Toronto Official Plan Land Use Maps. The Official Plan has eleven different land use designations. Neighbourhoods occupy approximately 35.4% of the City’s land area, the most of any land use designation.

      Major Streets and Neighbourhoods

      While many Neighbourhood-designated properties are on smaller, local streets, there are also a significant number on the wider, more active streets described as Major Streets on Official Plan Map 3.

      This work, was initiated in Fall 2021, to explore potential Official Plan policy and Zoning updates related to retail services and other local amenities that would:

      • Encourage communities within reach – where accessing goods, services and amenities is more convenient for residents of diverse ages, abilities and backgrounds.
      • Support Neighbourhood growth and change – as more people work from home, more housing is built in low-rise areas, and older plazas are redeveloped, there is an increased need and opportunity for new small, local amenities nearby to meet the specific needs of local residents. residents.
      • Increase neighbourhood walkability and sustainability – bring the goods and services that people need within a short distance of their homes that allows them to walk, roll or cycle, reducing car dependence and contributing to a cleaner environment.
      • Love and support local – help small, independent businesses thrive and create new jobs that will contribute to the local economy, while strengthening its resilience and cultural vitality.
      • Complement Mixed-Use main streets and retail shopping centres

      These types of local retail and services have declined over the past few decades.

      Retail and Service Establishments in Neighbourhoods
      1989 2019 Change % Change
      2137 1406 -731 -34%

      Phase 1 – 2022 – Complete

      On July 19, 2022, City Council adopted a report and Official Plan Amendment (By-law 819-2022) expanding Neighbourhood Retail and Services Uses and a zoning by-law amendment (By-law 820-2022) expanding Home Occupation uses in low-rise Neighbourhoods across the city. The amendments are in full force and effect.

      Phase 2 – 2022 to 2024 – Complete

      The Planning and Housing Committee endorsed the contents of the report (May 9, 2024) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning as the basis for ongoing public consultation. The report presented a zoning approach to permit certain small-scale retail, service and office uses on Residentially-zoned properties within Neighbourhoods city-wide. The draft Zoning by-law appended to the report formed the basis of a city-wide consultation program to inform a final report that was brought to City Council for consideration on December 17 and 18, 2024 2024.  Council referred the item “back to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning for consultation with the public and residents’ associations accompanied with a professional communications campaign through mainstream media channels to explain the proposal and gather their opinion.”

      Phase 3 – 2025 – In Progress

      We want to hear from you! Please fill out our 2025 EHON Retail and Services Project Survey.

      The 2025 EHON Retail and Services Project survey is intended for community members new to the project and those who shared feedback in 2024. It provides a refresher on the key ideas, outlines how your earlier feedback shaped revisions, and gives you a chance to share your feedback on the updated proposal.

      Phase Two Consultations

      Phase Three Consultations

      Proposed Edits to Zoning By-Law Proposals for Interior Streets

      During meetings held in 2024, some residents expressed concerns focussed on permissions off the major streets, in the interior of Neighbourhoods.

      • Some residents were concerned that the proposed By-law created too many opportunities for retail spaces in neighbourhood interiors, particularly on corner sites. In response to these concerns, staff are considering an edit that would limit retail uses to only those corner sites that are on wider, busier interior streets identified as “Minor Arterial” or “Collector” on the City’s Road Classification Map. The specific streets are identified as “Primary Interior Streets” on these ward-by-ward maps.
      • Some residents expressed concerns that patios and sit-down cafés might disrupt residential streets, particularly if alcohol is served. In response to these concerns, staff are considering an edit to the proposed by-law that would only allow a retail store plus take-out snacks and drinks. If this edit were made, permission for a sit-down café or patio would require a public approval process, such as through the Committee of Adjustment.

      Maps

      • EHON Retail and Service Study, Ward Maps: These show major streets that border the neighborhood, and the residentially-zoned parcels on those streets. In the interior of the neighborhood, the map shows parks, school sites and primary interior streets, where corner stores could be permitted.
      • Citywide Neighbourhood Retail Services Study Map: These show major streets that border the neighborhood, and the residentially-zoned parcels on those streets (in yellow), as well as the parcels designated as Mixed Use on the City’s Land Use map (in red).

      Visit Us at an Upcoming Event

      City Planning is visiting events across the City to talk about this project:

      • July 19: Ward 17, Don Valley North: Oriole Community Centre, 10:30 a.m. to noon
      • July 22: Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest: Albert Campbell Branch, 4 to 6 p.m.
      • July 24: Ward 1, Etobicoke North: Rexdale Branch Library, 4 to 6 p.m.
      • July 29: Ward 7, Humber River-Black Creek: Black-Creek Branch Library, noon to 2 p.m.
      • August 2: Ward 3, Etobicoke-Lakeshore: Humber Bay Park West (Farmers Market), 9 to 11:30 a.m.
      • August 7: Ward 19, Beaches-East York: East Lynn Park Farmers Market, 3 to 7 p.m.

      Past Events

      • July 5: Ward 5, York South-Weston: Rustic Bakery, noon to 2 p.m.
      • July 9: Ward 2, Etobicoke Centre: Montgomery’s Inn Outdoor Farmer’s Market, 2 to 7 p.m.
      • July 12: Ward 18, Willowdale: North York Centre Mall , 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
      • July 16: Ward 25, Scarborough-Rouge Park: Malvern Farmers’ Market, 4 to 7 p.m.
      • July 17: Ward 24, Scarborough-Guildwood: Tammy’s Your Independent Grocer, 4 to 6 p.m.
      • July 17: Ward 23, Scarborough North: Woodside Square Branch Library, 4 to 6 p.m.

        Staff working on this Study work collaboratively with a number of complementary project teams, including those on the on the Major Streets Study, Plaza Point of View (POV): Strip Plaza Study, Housing Action Plan: Avenues, Mid-rise and Mixed Use Areas Study as well as the other Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods teams. Visit Planning For Great Neighbourhoods for a summary on the ways that the City of Toronto is working to preserve and create new options for how and where people live as our city grows, ages and evolves.