[joemaller1]

   > The good thing is that, after 5 years of 
   > construction, a beautiful new mall stan… just kidding!
   >
   > This is Canada. The place where construction
   > has to stop because you’re not allowed to uproot
   > a tree on your own property. Or a vindictive neighbour
   > holds up your project in Committee of Adjustments, until
   > you build them a new deck as a bribe. Or construction
   > is blocked by a surprise Heritage Listing on your
   > building. I could keep going!

Little throwaways like this are brushstrokes in a much bigger picture.

[acchow]

> The place where construction has to stop because you’re not allowed to uproot

Strange take for Toronto where houses are being torn down and rebuilt as larger houses or high rises everywhere

[VHRanger]

The reason this happens is that effectively anything except a single family home is banned.

So when a multifamily project is approved on a lit, developpers are thrilled to put a high rise - there's so much pent up demand they know it'll sell out.

On the other end, the ultra rich want bigger mcmansions.

What's still lacking is sane 2-8 unit zoning.

[jfil]

My understanding of what's happening here in Toronto: it is such a hassle to fight for any new construction, that the only projects that are "worth it" are highrises. This means that 4-5 storey residential condos/rentals are not being built. Only the biggest buildings.

[pstrateman]

surprise heritage listing?

that's not a thing, you would 100% know when buying that a building was listed

[jfil]

I am the post's author, and I was referring to a specific building [1]. My understanding is that the owners bought it, unlisted, with the intent to develop it into something else. The City then suddenly made a case for designating it as a heritage property.

This is an area with powerful neighbours who have a lot of time on their hands.

I actually think there's a strong case for preserving this property. I love the look. The architecture is very unusual for Toronto and it looks striking. But, it is always a bummer when you purchase a property with plans to do X, and then get a surprise designation after you pay the money.

[1] https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2018/cc/bgrd/backgroundf...

[gattr]

I've read someone mentioning that in the UK such matters often resolve themselves by means of an accidental fire.

[voisin]

Not true. Many buildings are on the heritage “of interest” list and remain there for decades and as soon as someone goes in for permit to do something drastic, it gets moved to the heritage protection list and your rights are severely limited. Sometimes just being in a heritage district but not having a specific listing is enough to get classified when you want to do work.

This is from direct experience in Canada working in this industry.

[amluto]

Where I live, an administrator can decide that there is insufficient evidence that a property is not historic to permit unrestricted changes.

[Maxatar]

Yeah it's an exaggerated rant, including the idea that you can't uproot a tree on your property which is only somewhat true, but it's not much different than most developed countries including the U.S.

With little exception, there is a heck of a lot of construction in Canada. Canada has among the highest construction per capita in the world.

[brailsafe]

It may be a little exaggerated, but not by much.

> With little exception, there is a heck of a lot of construction in Canada. Canada has among the highest construction per capita in the world.

Construction of what and where and what does highest mean? If we're talking residential, we're mostly talking about McMansion style new suburbs where there wasn't anything to complain except nesting waterfowl. Vancouver is only barely an exception, and I'm sure others do exist, but it's hardly characteristic of the nation

[NikolaNovak]

How does a "surprise heritage listing" come up?

I don't know that I'm always a fan of heritage designations, but they're not exactly a surprise to a buyer, right?

[wbl]

They absolutely can be. Often the designation process can be started by a complaining neighbor, who won't act until notified about construction.