{"id":3996,"date":"2022-02-16T21:52:16","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T02:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/?page_id=3996"},"modified":"2022-02-16T21:52:16","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T02:52:16","slug":"provincial-report-favours-easing-obstacles-to-development","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/?page_id=3996","title":{"rendered":"Provincial … report…favours easing obstacles to development"},"content":{"rendered":"

Provincial task force report on housing crisis favours easing obstacles to development<\/h1>\n
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Report recommends reducing fees, public consultation<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

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PD<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
By <\/span>Paige Desmond<\/a><\/span>Record Reporter<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Tue., Feb. 15, 2022<\/span><\/span>timer<\/i>6 min. read<\/span><\/div>\n
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WATERLOO REGION \u2014 The province\u2019s housing affordability task force recommends sweeping changes that would allow developers to fast-track some housing projects<\/strong>, pay fewer fees<\/strong> and at times forgo public consultation and other planning processes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The panel was convened by the minister of municipal affairs and housing in December to suggest ways to deal with the housing shortage crisis. The task force report was released in January.<\/p>\n

What happens next is up to the province.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Among other criticisms, the report said municipalities conduct too much public consultation<\/span> for political reasons.<\/p>\n

It largely calls on the province to set standards and practices municipalities would have to follow, taking away some local decision-making powers and discretion<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s written from a big business perspective<\/strong> and that is one perspective on how to build houses however there are other perspectives \u2014 planning perspectives, proper consultation perspectives, local citizen perspectives<\/span>,\u201d Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky said. \u201cAnd when we\u2019re planning things out for 30, 40, 50 years … it\u2019s good to give thoughtful consultation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the Planning Act municipalities are required to hold one formal public meeting at which a vote is taken to approve or not approve a project.<\/p>\n

Waterloo conducts an informal meeting first to introduce big projects to residents.<\/p>\n

The report says those practices should be scrapped.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause local councillors depend on the votes of residents who want to keep the status quo, the planning process has become politicized. Municipalities allow far more public consultation than is required, often using formats that make it hard for working people and families with young children to take part,\u201d the report reads.<\/p>\n

Jaworsky said the city supports keeping its consultation practices<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Municipalities are dealing with record-high home costs due to supply shortages. [See approved lots not being built on by developers.]<\/p>\n

Ten years ago the average home price in Ontario was $329,000. At the end of 2021 that cost hit $923,000, according to the report.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s an increase of 180 percent. During the same period, the average income increased 38 percent.<\/p>\n

According to a Scotiabank study completed in 2021 and updated in January two-thirds of Canada\u2019s housing shortage is in Ontario.<\/p>\n

The report said Ontario needs 1.5 million new homes over the next decade to deal with the shortage.<\/p>\n

For the purpose of this report, the definition of home included detached, semi-detached or attached homes, apartments, suites, condominiums and mobile homes.<\/p>\n

The task force was not asked to consider subsidized housing as part of its report<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

It also recommends that development charges be waived<\/span> for certain projects.<\/p>\n

Development charges are fees developers pay for items related to growth like roads and sewers<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf those costs aren\u2019t paid for by the developer then they\u2019re borne by the existing citizens through property taxes<\/span> … and that is not acceptable,\u201d Jaworsky said. \u201cGrowth should pay for growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regional Chair Karen Redman said the province also needs to be looking at hospitals, schools and highways<\/span> to support any new growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t just build houses and not have services available that everybody expects to be there and they need to be funded by the province,\u201d Redman said.<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cI think that you can\u2019t impose things on the community. I think that there still has to be due process, I still believe in managed growth.<\/span><\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said the report could have benefitted from municipal input.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what concerns me is there are some (ideas) that maybe would have benefitted from a municipal lens to perhaps help the task force better understand some of the processes and realities in terms of what cities deal with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said any process that seeks to limit community engagement would be an issue<\/span><\/strong>. And while the goal of building 1.5 million new homes during the next decade is admirable, Vrbanovic said supply chain and labour shortages might make that difficult.<\/p>\n

The report also makes specific recommendations around heritage that include:<\/p>\n

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  • Repealing or overriding municipal policies, zoning, or plans<\/span> that prioritize the preservation of the physical character of a neighbourhood<\/li>\n
  • Prevent abuse of the heritage preservation and designation process by:<\/li>\n
  • Prohibiting the use of bulk listing on municipal heritage registers<\/li>\n
  • Prohibiting reactive heritage designations after a Planning Act development application has been filed<\/li>\n
  • Requiring municipalities to compensate property owners for loss of property value as a result of heritage designations, based on the principle of best economic use of land.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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    Earlier this month the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario issued a release in response to the report.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe housing affordability task force overreached its mandate<\/span> when it waded into discussions of heritage,\u201d said Diane Chin, ACO Chair. \u201cThe task force had neither representation or (sic) input from anyone with heritage experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Jean Haalboom is a former regional councillor and now sits on the ACO board, though she spoke on her own behalf.<\/p>\n

    She said the report should have recommended ways to incentivize reuse of heritage and older buildings, rather than present them as something standing in the way of development.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s Haalboom\u2019s opinion that the heritage recommendations are borne from the \u201csour grapes\u201d of a handful of developers.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThey want to do the quick fix, get in there, bulldoze, down it comes and likely they do not have an understanding of the heritage, of the value and the place of this heritage structure in the community and its value to the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

    Haalboom pointed to projects like Alexandra School and St. Louis School in Waterloo as local success stories.<\/p>\n

    They were approved to be converted to new residential uses.<\/p>\n

    Recommendations include: <\/strong><\/p>\n

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    • Create more permissive land use, planning and approval systems including exemptions from site plan and public consultation process for projects of 10 units or less<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Allow projects with up to four units and secondary and garden suites to bypass regulated zoning processes<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Allow developers to appeal municipal official plans<\/strong><\/span> \u2014 large planning documents that guide how communities will grow<\/li>\n
    • Allow wood construction of up to 12 storeys<\/span>. Six is currently the maximum permitted under the Ontario Building Code<\/li>\n
    • Remove right of appeal at the Ontario Land Tribunal<\/span> for projects with at least 30 percent affordable housing in which units are guaranteed affordable for at least 40 years<\/li>\n
    • Require a $10,000 filing fee for third-party appeals to the tribunal.<\/span> The current fee is $400<\/li>\n
    • Waive development charges and parkland cash-in-lieu<\/span> and charge only modest connection fees for all infill residential projects up to 10 units or development where no new infrastructure will be required<\/li>\n
    • Waive development charges on all forms of affordable housing guaranteed to be affordable for 40 years.<\/li>\n
    • Call on the federal government to implement an urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing strategy<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Funding for pilot projects<\/span> that create innovative pathways to homeownership, for Black, Indigenous, and marginalized people and first-generation homeowners.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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      Taskforce members: [No municipal or ‘citizen’ representation]<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
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      • Lalit Aggarwal is President of Manor Park Holdings, a real estate development and operating company active in Eastern Ontario<\/li>\n
      • Tim Hudak is the CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association<\/li>\n
      • David Amborski is a professional urban planner, professor at Ryerson University\u2019s School of Urban and Regional Planning and the founding Director of the Centre for Urban Research and Land Development<\/li>\n
      • Andrew Garrett is a real estate executive responsible for growing IMCO\u2019s $11-plus billion global real estate portfolio<\/li>\n
      • Jake Lawrence was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Group Head, Global Banking and Markets in January 2021<\/li>\n
      • Julie Di Lorenzo is self-employed since 1982, operates one of the largest female-run real estate development companies in North America<\/li>\n
      • Ene Underwood is CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Toronto Area, a non-profit housing developer<\/li>\n
      • Dave Wilkes is the president and CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association of the GTA<\/li>\n
      • Justin Marchand is M\u00e9tis and was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services in 2018<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Provincial task force report on housing crisis favours easing obstacles to development Report recommends reducing fees, public consultation PD By Paige DesmondRecord Reporter Tue., Feb. 15, 2022timer6 min. read WATERLOO REGION \u2014 The province\u2019s housing affordability task force recommends sweeping changes that would allow developers to fast-track some housing projects, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3273,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3996","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3996"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3997,"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3996\/revisions\/3997"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisiswilmot.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}