The Town of Newmarket plans to set new housing targets in defiance of a provincially ordered target of 12,000 homes by 2031.
Council directed staff Sept. 18 to report on feasible targets for housing, along with specific targets for rental housing and subsidized, non-profit housing. This comes after the town previously refuted the provincial target as not being feasible given sewage infrastructure constraints.
Councillor Christina Bisanz made the motion and said Newmarket does want to make more housing happen.
“It’s not as though Newmarket is dragging its feet. We are very committed to addressing the housing challenge in a way that is responsible and reasonable,” Bisanz said.
Newmarket has been at odds with the province in recent months over the housing target and related issues. Whereas other municipalities have signed on to targets, Newmarket refuted, citing concerns about having the sewage infrastructure in place to build that much housing. But now, the province is tying infrastructure funding to the passage of building permits.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said he was previously under the impression the town would get a new target, but a message from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing at the end of August seemed to contradict that. With a new minister put in place this month, Taylor said setting new targets makes sense.
“We need to get this issue before them,” Taylor said. “We want to show and participate and recognize supply is an important issue.”
Housing targets are further constrained by market conditions, Taylor said. With high-interest rates and rising construction costs, he said it is more challenging to build and get developers to pull building permits.
“I wish we could build 12,000 more homes,” Taylor said. “Even if we had the sewage capacity solution tomorrow, there is nothing in the data, numbers, to me to indicate we would hit anywhere close to 12,000."
Councillor Kelly Broome said the time is of the essence.
“If we can do our part to assist the province in better understanding our willingness for sure, but our capacity as well, I think it's well worth our time,” Broome said.
The direction from council asks staff to bring back a report within 45 days.
