City reduces required bedroom sizes, parking rules

Gatineau plenary meeting unveils 2025 Omnibus bylaw reforms

Tashi Farmilo

Homeowners, landlords, and builders in Gatineau could soon benefit from easier housing conversions, clearer construction rules, and stronger support for electric vehicle infrastructure, following a series of proposed bylaw amendments presented during the May 6 plenary meeting.

City officials introduced the 2025 Omnibus Regulation package highlighting four key areas of reform: a complete overhaul of the municipal construction code, relaxed conditions for adding secondary units in single-family homes, updated facade material rules, and streamlined approval processes for small construction projects.

A major focus of the proposed changes is to simplify the creation of secondary suites in detached homes. While technically permitted under current zoning, such conversions have been bogged down by complex and inconsistent requirements. The new approach would eliminate the outdated category of “logement additionnel” and replace it with a clear, unified definition of a second dwelling — one subject to consistent building and design rules, such as a ban on front-facing exterior staircases and a two-door limit per facade.

“This is about unlocking housing options while preserving the look and feel of our residential neighbourhoods,” explained Chantal Lanoix, who led the presentation from Gatineau’s Urban Planning Department. She emphasized that the omnibus regulation is part of a philosophy of continuous improvement, where the city compiles recurring issues in the application of existing rules and proposes targeted updates to make them clearer, more coherent, and easier to apply.

Also under review is the city’s construction bylaw, now formally proposed as Règlement 534-2025, which updates 20-year-old local standards to align with the provincial Code de construction du Québec. Gatineau will retain stricter rules in some areas, including requiring bedroom escape windows in non-sprinklered rooms and enhanced acoustic separation between secondary units — measures supported by the city’s fire safety service (SSIG).

Electric vehicle infrastructure is another highlight. Since 2020, Gatineau mandates a charging outlet — not just wiring — for new homes. The 2025 update would extend this rule to existing buildings undergoing a housing conversion, ensuring all new units are "EV-ready."

The zoning bylaw will also be updated to limit the use of certain facade materials. Exposed fastener corrugated metal siding would be banned, and imitation wood or shingle-like siding would be capped at 50% of visible walls, aiming to improve urban aesthetics and coherence.

To ease administrative burdens and shorten wait times, the omnibus package proposes reducing how many types of renovations must undergo discretionary architectural review under the PIIA (Plans d’implantation et d’intégration architecturale) framework. Routine upgrades could instead follow standardized rules.

Six bylaws are impacted by the omnibus, including the construction code, zoning regulation, two PIIA-related regulations, the administrative code, and the sanitation and occupancy bylaw.

A public consultation on the proposed reforms was held at Gatineau City Hall on May 6, with close to a dozen people in attendance. According to the city’s communications department, the session had been publicly announced through official notices published on April 17 and 23, in line with Règlement numéro 851-2023 governing public notices. In addition to attending the session in person, residents were encouraged to submit questions, comments, or concerns by email between April 23 and May 5. A summary of the consultation will be shared with the City Council and made publicly available online.

No further consultations are planned before the final adoption of the omnibus package, expected at the City Council Meeting on June 10, 2025.