ABSTRACT
Canada displays a wealth, if not a confusion, of instruments for the implementation of planning policies or controls. These range from traditional zoning bylaws to flexible development agreements, and from standard subdivision controls to the transfer of air rights. Population growth and urban development were slower in Canada and there was less pressure for zoning controls. The notion of flexibility, of course, was foreign to the original concepts of zoning. Spot zoning, as the term suggests, is the zoning of individual plots. Holding bylaws, though formerly of doubtful legality, have grown in popularity in response to the increased tempo of change. Perhaps the most famous case of a holding bylaw is the city of Toronto’s 45 Foot Bylaw. Zoning is normally restrictive: indeed, until the pre-1983 legislation in Ontario, a zoning bylaw was termed a restricted area bylaw. The transfer of development rights is another form of incentive zoning.
