Garden Suites in Richmond Hill - Design, Permits, Construction

The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan covers Richmond Hill's northern third, and on those Jefferson and Oak Ridges lots the tree-protection and grading requirements routinely cost more than the ADU's foundation. We price a moraine site and a Crosby site as two different classes of project. Richmond Hill permits additional dwelling units subject to Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan constraints on the northern third of the town.

Sloped and treed lots along the moraine where site grading and tree protection drive cost more than the building itself. Richmond Hill sees 139 cm of snow and -4.6°C winter averages.

A garden suite is a free-standing building in the rear yard, so the governing numbers on a Richmond Hill lot are rear and side setbacks, the soft-landscaping percentage that has to survive, and the separation distance to the main house required for fire spread. Because it is new construction on undisturbed ground, the footings go to 1.2 m and the roof is engineered for 139 cm of annual snow load - both poured and framed inside the April-November season. Rear-yard access for the excavator is the practical gate: where sloped and treed lots along the moraine where site grading and tree protection drive cost more than the building itself, we plan side-yard machine access or crane placement before pricing.