Inclusionary Housing Canada » Campaign – Province Ontario

Ontario Government Supports Inclusionary Housing

admin — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:47:37 +0000

On October 28, 2010, Hon. Dwight Duncan stood in the legislature and said: “We’re very supportive of Inclusionary Housing……We want to make sure we get it right” Mr. Duncan’s remarks were in response to a question from Cheri Di Novo, MPP for Parkdale High Park about why the government majority on a legislative committee killed her private members bill (Bill 58) on Inclusionary Housing. Mr Duncan referred to the bill as “helpful input” and a step towards getting it right on Inclusionary Housing.

Inclusionary Housing Bill Passes Second Reading in Ontario Legislature

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:01:02 +0000

On Thursday, June 3, Bill 58, Planning Amendment Act (Enabling Municipalities to Require Inclusionary Housing), 2010 passed second reading in the Ontario legislature and referred to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills.

This bill was the same as one that was introduced in the Legislature last fall and needed to come forward again after the new session was started this spring. The purpose of the bill is to amend the Planning Act to allow municipalities to introduce Inclusionary Housing By-Laws and programs.

The content of the bill can be read here.

The Hansard debate on Bill 58 can be read here.

A list of the MPPs who voted in favour of the bill can be read here.

Regional Planning Commissioners of Ontario Make Strong Case for Inclusionary Housing

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 15:46:11 +0000

The Regional Planning Commissioners of Ontario (RPCO) represents the planning directors, commissioners and other senior planning officials of municipal governments across Ontario.

Its current membership includes the Cities of Chatham-Kent, Guelph, Greater Sudbury, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Ottawa, Thunder Bay and Windsor; the Regional Municipalities of Durham, Halton, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo, and York; Counties of Simcoe and Haldimand; and the District Municipality of Muskoka.

The RPCO through letters to the Province and position papers has repeatedly made clear its support for inclusionary housing.

The most recent correspondence, a letter from the Chair of the RPCO to the Acting Assistant Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on 12 April 2010, opened with this statement:

“I am writing to again express our support for the development of explicit policies and legislation to enable municipalities to require the provision of inclusionary housing.”

Read this letter in full.

See other endorsers of Inclusionary Housing

So Who Says Inclusionary Housing is a Good Thing?

admin — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:31:01 +0000

City of Toronto, Ontario
Town of Collingwood Ontario
Regional Planning Commissioners of Ontario
City of London, Ontario
Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association
City of Thunder Bay, Ontario
Conference Board of Canada
Town of Milton, Ontario
Cities Centre, University of Toronto
Town of Blue Mountains, Ontario

City of Toronto

The City’s Housing Opportunities Toronto (HOT) Action Plan 2010-2020, adopted by Toronto City Council on August 5, 2009, lays out a 10-year affordable housing strategy. It contains a number of recommended actions for the city as well as the federal and provincial governments, including the following:

“The provincial government [should] provide Toronto with new powers to implement an inclusionary housing program … to increase affordable housing opportunities in new developments.”

The City on many earlier occasions also has re-iterated to the provincial government and legislative committees its request for inclusionary zoning powers, either through amendments to the Planning Act amendments, or through the implementation of the ‘zoning with conditions’ provisions of the City of Toronto Act.

Recommendations from City Council on 19-20 June 2007, and a letter from the Mayor to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on 23 July 2007, sought the release of the regulations regarding zoning with conditions, and particularly conditions that would allow for securing affordable housing.

In April 2005 and then December 2005, in response to the Draft Growth Plan and then the Proposed Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the City requested inclusionary zoning powers for affordable housing.

In July 2004, City Council adopted a position that the Province should amend the Planning Act to include “inclusionary zoning powers to ensure that affordable housing as defined by the municipality is included in residential or mixed use developments”.

The City was also party to the many separate requests made by the Regional Planning Commissioners of Ontario.

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Town of Collingwood, Ontario

In a letter of March 22, 2010, the Mayor of Collingwood Ontario wrote to Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Jim Bradley about Bill 198 and said in part:

“I can not emphasize enough the importance of Bill 198 and the importance of this legislation to amend the Planning Act to give municipalities the power to require developers to include affordable housing in new developments.”

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Regional Planning Commissioners of Ontario

The Regional Planning Commissioners of Ontario (RPCO) represents the planning directors, commissioners and other senior planning officials of municipal governments across Ontario. Its current membership includes the Cities of Chatham-Kent, Guelph, Greater Sudbury, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Ottawa, Thunder Bay and Windsor; the Regional Municipalities of Durham, Halton, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo, and York; Counties of Simcoe and Haldimand; and the District Municipality of Muskoka.

The RPCO through letters to the Province and position papers has repeatedly made clear its support for inclusionary housing.

The most recent correspondence, a letter from the Chair of the RPCO to the Acting Assistant Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on 12 April 2010, opened with this statement:

“I am writing to again express our support for thedevelopment of explicit policies and legislation to enable municipalities to require the provision of inclusionary housing.”

Read this letter in full

In a letter of December 21, 2009, from the Chair of the RPCO to the Director of the Housing Policy Branch of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, to provide input to the Province’s Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy, one of the three key issues identified as “creative new ideas” that would improve the current housing system was the following:

“Provision of conditional or inclusionary zoning powers to enable municipalities to effectively implement the housing goals and objectives of the Provincial Policy Statement and Growth Plan, especially the provision of affordable housing.”

In an earlier letter dated March 26, 2008 to the Director of the Provincial Planning Branch, the Chair urged the following:

“That conditional or inclusionary zoning powers be introduced to permit municipalities to secure affordable rental and ownership housing in new developments…. It is our belief that conditional or inclusionary zoning powers for affordable housing purposes are a necessary tool to enable municipalities to effectively implement the Provincial Policy Statement and Growth Plan objectives.”

In April 2006, in a follow-up to their position paper of August 2004, the RPCO wrote to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing asking for legislation to ensure that all municipalities and the City of Toronto have clear power to use zoning with conditions to achieve housing policy goals, including affordable housing development.

In April 2005, the RPCO made a submission to the Province recommending that the Growth Plan provisions for affordable housing include powers for municipalities to use inclusionary zoning or conditional zoning to achieve new affordable housing in developments.

In August 2004, the RPCO submitted a position paper to the province on Planning Reforms, asking for improved planning tools to increase the supply of affordable housing, including specifically inclusionary zoning powers or conditional zoning powers.

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City of London Ontario

In a resolution passed on October 5, 2009, the City of London, Ontario endorsed Cheri DiNovo’s Private Members Bill 198 An Act to Amend the Planning Act with respect to inclusionary housing

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Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association

Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA) represents 770 non-profit housing providers in over 220 communities across Ontario.

In its Call for an Effective Provincial Affordable Housing Strategy, approved at its Annual General Meeting on October 19, 2008, ONPHA called for the provincial government when developing its long-term Affordable Housing Strategy to include:

“Provincial tools from which local communities can draw to formulate locally customized and municipally-approved housing plans with such tools including … inclusionary zoning.

ONPHA’s Executive Director, in a letter of June 26, 2009 to the Provincial Planning Policy Branch of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, stated the following:

“We believe than an affordable housing strategy must include significant emphasis on the development of new, permanently affordable housing…. Inclusionary zoning [is a planning tool that] promotes the development of permanently-affordable housing and should be explicitly available to municipalities …. communities must have the tools and regulatory environment that enables them to develop, fund and implement affordable housing solutions…”

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City of Thunder Bay

In a resolution passed on January 18, 2010, the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario endorsed Cheri DiNovo’s Private Members Bill 198 An Act to Amend the Planning Act with respect to inclusionary housing.

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The Conference Board of Canada

The Conference Board of Canada is an independent and non-partisan non-profit organization that undertakes applied research on economic trends and public policy issues.

The Board in March 2010 released a report called Building from the Ground Up: Enhancing Affordable Housing in Canada. The report explores the current affordable housing situation in this country; and makes the case that developers, governments, and civil society organizations should all work to expand the supply of good-quality affordable housing. It highlights a variety of effective and practical models and tools for use in providing this housing.

The report identifies inclusionary zoning as a ‘noteworthy innovation’ and says this:

“Government initiatives frequently involve the use of taxation and spending power to create more units. As the models reveal, however, governments can also leverage their planning and building permission powers—for example, density bonusing or inclusionary zoning initiatives—to encourage the private sector to incorporate affordable units into market development projects.”

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Town of Milton

In a resolution passed on November 23, 2009, the Town of Milton, Ontario endorsed Cheri DiNovo’s Private Members Bill 198 An Act to Amend the Planning Act with respect to inclusionary housing.

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Cities Centre, University of Toronto

David Hulchanski, now Associate Director for Research of the University of Toronto’s Cities Centre (and formerly, Director of its Centre for Urban and Community Studies (CUCS)) was the principal author and researcher for a report entitled The Three Cities within Toronto: Income Polarization among Toronto’s Neighbourhoods, 1970-2000, released by CUCS in December 2007.

The report examines the dramatic social and economic polarization and segregation that has occurred over the last 30 or more years in Toronto, and the steady loss of middle-income housing and the city’s traditional mixed-income neighbourhoods.

The report identifies inclusionary zoning as the first of the federal, provincial and municipal policies that could be implemented to help in mitigating these growing disparities and losses.

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Town of Blue Mountains Ontario

In a resolution passed on April 12, 2010, the Town of Milton, Ontario endorsed Cheri DiNovo’s Private Members Bill 198 An Act to Amend the Planning Act with respect to inclusionary housing.

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An Important Tool in a Long Term Affordable Housing Strategy

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:46:28 +0000

Why Inclusionary Housing?

We all benefit when the people who staff our hospitals, banks, hotels, schools, retail stores and other workplaces can afford to live in the communities where they work. Over 200 American and Canadian municipalities have found that one of the fastest and fairest ways to create stable, equitably accessible, affordable housing is to ensure that it is built into any new development.

The results:

Affordable rental and home ownership opportunities for all integrated into every neighbourhood.
No more NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) – affordable housing is a normal part of development.
Developers are engaged in creating affordable housing and their return on investment is respected.
Everyone does what they do best: developers develop; governments provide subsidies where equitable accessibility and deep affordability is needed; non-profit groups can purchase units, rent them to their clients, and provide programs and support where necessary.
People can live near their workplace, and our children can afford to live in the cities and neighbourhoods where they grew up.

In the development boom of 2000 – 2007, we missed the opportunity to create thousands of affordable homes. Let’s not make the same mistake twice. Let’s use this lull in the development cycle to ready ourselves for the next boom.

One part of a comprehensive housing strategy

Inclusionary Housing does not stand alone. To reach the Housing Network of Ontario’s goals for stable, adequate, equitably accessible and affordable housing, we also need:

Subsidies for Ontarians with the lowest incomes
Construction and building standards that would reduce the carbon footprint and energy use of all developments
Supports, programs and protections to help all Ontarians find and keep a home.

Municipalities outside Ontario have created thousands of affordable homes – over 11,000 in one city in the United States — at almost no cost to the taxpayer, simply by setting aside 10 to 20 per cent of every new development for affordable housing.

These successes show us that it is possible. It’s time for Ontario to harness the power of Inclusionary Housing.

The Goals

A set of programs and policies that:

Require that a portion of all new developments be affordable to individuals and families with moderate incomes.
Preserve the benefits of affordability and inclusive neighbourhoods in the long term.

The Tools

Inclusionary Housing policies are set by local governments. But it’s up to the Ontario Government to give local governments the authority to create the tools to make Inclusionary Housing work. These tools include:

Planning and approval tools that define the developer’s role in providing housing that is affordable at set income levels, and the agreed upon cost offsets required to maintain a reasonable return on investments.
Finance, mortgage, and rental tools that allow individuals, families and non-profit housing providers to acquire housing under Inclusionary Housing programs at affordable costs, and that preserve affordable housing for future residents.
Open, transparent and equitable systems to select who will own or rent affordable units created through Inclusionary Housing.

Inclusionary Housing and a Long Term Affordable Housing Strategy for Ontario

Many municipalities are excited by the potential for Inclusionary Housing to create affordable housing wherever new housing is developed.

To move forward, they need the Ontario Government to enact legislation that would:

Provide municipalities with the explicit legal authority to adopt mandatory inclusionary housing policies that would define the rights and responsibilities of developers and builders in contributing to the creation of affordable housing.
Provide municipalities with the explicit legal authority to adopt policies and enter into agreements that would define the rights and responsibilities of households who would benefit from an Inclusionary Housing program.

It is recognized that not all municipalities may be able to take advantage of mandatory Inclusionary Housing Policies, and those that do will adapt their policies to local conditions.

A successful provincial housing strategy will require the participation of all stakeholders. The development of Inclusionary Housing policies will ensure that private housing developers are engaged, along with provincial and municipal governments, and non-profit housing organizations in providing the full range of housing options needed to make sure that every person in the province can equitably access stable, affordable housing.

Endorse this statement

View the list of endorsers