Newmarket council blasted the province as it provided feedback on the direction of affordable housing.
The Ontario government has asked all municipalities to indicate if they support or oppose each of the 74 recommendations made by a provincial affordability housing task force last year. It set a deadline of Oct. 16 and said any municipalities that do not meet this would be ineligible for a portion of a $1.2 billion fund for infrastructure.
Councillors expressed dissatisfaction with the provincial process Oct. 10 as they approved a response made by staff and the mayor, indicating support for 57 of the recommendations and disapproval of 27, with caveats.
“To me, seems a little bit like holding us hostage on this,” Councillor Christina Bisanz said. "I’m deeply disturbed by that approach.”
The province also asked municipalities to indicate their five most important recommendations from the task force. The recommendations range from the provincial promise to build 1.5 million homes, expanding “as of right” permits to several different categories, reducing the planning process and many more.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said it is a highly complex list and council would seek staff reports on most of these given the chance. He further noted the task force was principally comprised of the real estate and development sector.
He said if considering these recommendations was not tied to funding, he would want to send it back to the province.
“On behalf of the residents and taxpayers of Newmarket, we have to participate,” Taylor said.
Newmarket’s top five priority recommendations from the task force included:
- Providing loan guarantees for rental and affordable housing projects;
- Amending legislation to prioritize intensification and "growth in the full spectrum of housing supply";
- Creating an affordable housing trust from land transfer tax revenue;
- Reviewing surplus government land;
- Adding a minimum 20 per cent affordable housing component to all future government land sales.
Deputy Mayor Tom Vegh said it was a difficult list to get through and he could easily change his mind on recommendations depending on the day.
He further said that even if the province implements the list in its entirety, it would not necessarily address housing affordability, with the issue being that most families do not have the minimum household income needed to buy a home.
“I just don’t see this addressing the real core problem,” Vegh said.
A couple of the recommendations did get flagged in the discussion as problematic, including “as of right” zoning of six to 11 storeys with no parking minimum on streets with public transit access, which could theoretically apply to any residential area with a bus stop.
Councillor Victor Woodhouse said the province has a problem trying to fulfill 1.5 million homes, but added that “unless a miracle occurs, that’s not going to take place.”
“It seems to me to bully us into compliance,” he said of this process.
The $1.2-billion fund may be hard to access regardless, Taylor said, with the province tying it to meeting housing targets based on building permits issued. He said most municipalities will struggle to meet those targets, with building permits also being determined by how much the private sector can build.
“We’ll see where this goes,” Taylor said. “But I think we have to participate to reserve our spot.”
