Laneway Homes in Aurora - Design, Permits, Construction

Old Aurora lots routinely run 200 ft deep - the longest average rear-yard depth of any town in York Region. That depth is why Aurora is one of the few GTA municipalities where a two-storey garden suite with its own private yard still clears the angular plane without a minor variance. Aurora permits additional dwelling units with the Aurora Village and Northeast Old Aurora heritage districts adding design review in the core.

Large mature lots in Old Aurora with 200 ft depths, and Oak Ridges Moraine constraints on the western edge.

A laneway house is only buildable where the rear lane is a registered public right-of-way with the clear width the fire route table demands, so the first thing we measure in Aurora is the lane itself - width, surface, and the unobstructed path from the lane edge to the proposed front door. Servicing runs from the main house, not the lane: water, sanitary and the electrical feed are trenched across the rear yard, which is why the excavation has to land inside the May-October window rather than after it. Two storeys over a 1.2 m frost footing is the usual envelope, with the second floor set back from the lane face to hold the angular-plane limit.