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From the Star:
Mondo condos push T.O. growth
City halfway to goal of 500,000 new residents, but it comes at a cost
January 19, 2007
Jim Byers
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
The surge in downtown condominium towers has, in a few short years, helped the city of Toronto get halfway to its goal of adding a half-million residents by 2031.
It's a result that's supposed to save invaluable farm land from being paved over in the 905 and help battle climate change, but Toronto officials say it's proving costly to keep up with the demands that growth has placed on the city.
The city's official plan called for Toronto to grow from roughly 2.5 million residents in 2001 to about 3 million by 2031. Census data for 2006 won't be given to the city for a few months, but chief planner Ted Tyndorf yesterday said that existing buildings and a large list of approved new homes in the downtown core and other parts of the city will bring another 250,000 new residents for Canada's most populous city over the next few years.
It's mostly good news, said Councillor Brian Ashton (Ward 36, Scarborough Southwest), chair of the city's planning and growth management committee.
"It's good that Toronto can accommodate that degree of intensification," he told the Star. "The question is whether our infrastructure in areas like public transit can support that into the future.
"The province asked us to help stop urban sprawl by making room for a lot of new people, and we're happy to do that. We've saved the province hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure costs such as new highways in the 905," he said.
"But we want a share of that savings, which speaks to the mayor's call for a new deal for Toronto and a share of the wealth," from the federal or provincial sales tax, he added.
Tyndorf said some 15,000 to 20,000 housing units are being completed in the city every year, ranging from bachelors to two-bedroom apartments.
"Even if you assume only 1.2 people per unit, you're still looking at 20,000 to 30,000 people a year," he said.
Tyndorf said planners didn't think it was a reach to attract 500,000 new residents to the city over a 30-year span. But Ashton said he was one of many politicians who arched an eyebrow when they first heard talk of the goal.
"I have to confess I was one of the skeptics. I remember asking former planning commissioner Paul Bedford about it. I said to him, `Can we accommodate all these people?' and he said, `Sure we can, and we have to, because they're coming.'"
"I think the city's growth shows that staying the course is the right approach," said Glenn Miller of the Canadian Urban Institute. "The city has been adding new units for well over a decade. The current, torrid pace however, is relatively new. It has amazed a lot of observers.
"To me, the challenge will be a better distribution of the type of units so we have more family units," Miller said. "The city has to continue to intensify but be more family oriented."
Miller said it's very difficult to say if the city development is actually halting urban sprawl. But he agreed that having people move into a 250-unit condo on King St. W. means it's less likely that a 250-home subdivision will be built in Stouffville.
"We've been saying for a while that what's happening in Toronto is great," said Stephen Dupuis, CEO of the Greater Toronto Home Builders Association/Urban Development Institute. "Look at some of the American cities that are hollowing out and are dead at night. Toronto is the opposite."
Tyndorf said it won't be an issue if the city grows faster than the official plan suggested, explaining that it's merely a target and not a fixed number.
As well as adding 500,000 new residents between 2001 and 2031, the city of Toronto's official plan called for the same number of added jobs.
Reaching that goal is proving a lot tougher than boosting the population, Tyndorf said.
City officials say that surveys taken last summer indicate the city added another 13,000 jobs last year, or about 1.1 per cent more than the year before. That put Toronto at roughly 1.277 million workers. But officials cautioned those numbers aren't official census figures and that they don't include people who work at home or who move from place to place such as construction workers.
The city official plan says Toronto wants to encourage "compact growth" and intensification of existing city land. There have been conflicts between residents of nearby residential areas and developers who want to put up bigger buildings on streets such as Avenue Rd. or Sheppard Ave. in North York.
But the city says adding more people to Toronto improves energy and land conservation, maximizes use of existing infrastructure and reduces reliance on the automobile, which helps battle climate change and other environmental problems.
Toronto gets added development fees and property taxes when it allows new buildings, but Ashton said that doesn't make up for the cost of supplying transportation, water and other necessities.
"It's great to help stop urban sprawl but it puts a strain on the city," he said.
"The province can't walk away from that. The city's property tax system simply can't support our infrastructure requirements."
AoD
Mondo condos push T.O. growth
City halfway to goal of 500,000 new residents, but it comes at a cost
January 19, 2007
Jim Byers
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
The surge in downtown condominium towers has, in a few short years, helped the city of Toronto get halfway to its goal of adding a half-million residents by 2031.
It's a result that's supposed to save invaluable farm land from being paved over in the 905 and help battle climate change, but Toronto officials say it's proving costly to keep up with the demands that growth has placed on the city.
The city's official plan called for Toronto to grow from roughly 2.5 million residents in 2001 to about 3 million by 2031. Census data for 2006 won't be given to the city for a few months, but chief planner Ted Tyndorf yesterday said that existing buildings and a large list of approved new homes in the downtown core and other parts of the city will bring another 250,000 new residents for Canada's most populous city over the next few years.
It's mostly good news, said Councillor Brian Ashton (Ward 36, Scarborough Southwest), chair of the city's planning and growth management committee.
"It's good that Toronto can accommodate that degree of intensification," he told the Star. "The question is whether our infrastructure in areas like public transit can support that into the future.
"The province asked us to help stop urban sprawl by making room for a lot of new people, and we're happy to do that. We've saved the province hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure costs such as new highways in the 905," he said.
"But we want a share of that savings, which speaks to the mayor's call for a new deal for Toronto and a share of the wealth," from the federal or provincial sales tax, he added.
Tyndorf said some 15,000 to 20,000 housing units are being completed in the city every year, ranging from bachelors to two-bedroom apartments.
"Even if you assume only 1.2 people per unit, you're still looking at 20,000 to 30,000 people a year," he said.
Tyndorf said planners didn't think it was a reach to attract 500,000 new residents to the city over a 30-year span. But Ashton said he was one of many politicians who arched an eyebrow when they first heard talk of the goal.
"I have to confess I was one of the skeptics. I remember asking former planning commissioner Paul Bedford about it. I said to him, `Can we accommodate all these people?' and he said, `Sure we can, and we have to, because they're coming.'"
"I think the city's growth shows that staying the course is the right approach," said Glenn Miller of the Canadian Urban Institute. "The city has been adding new units for well over a decade. The current, torrid pace however, is relatively new. It has amazed a lot of observers.
"To me, the challenge will be a better distribution of the type of units so we have more family units," Miller said. "The city has to continue to intensify but be more family oriented."
Miller said it's very difficult to say if the city development is actually halting urban sprawl. But he agreed that having people move into a 250-unit condo on King St. W. means it's less likely that a 250-home subdivision will be built in Stouffville.
"We've been saying for a while that what's happening in Toronto is great," said Stephen Dupuis, CEO of the Greater Toronto Home Builders Association/Urban Development Institute. "Look at some of the American cities that are hollowing out and are dead at night. Toronto is the opposite."
Tyndorf said it won't be an issue if the city grows faster than the official plan suggested, explaining that it's merely a target and not a fixed number.
As well as adding 500,000 new residents between 2001 and 2031, the city of Toronto's official plan called for the same number of added jobs.
Reaching that goal is proving a lot tougher than boosting the population, Tyndorf said.
City officials say that surveys taken last summer indicate the city added another 13,000 jobs last year, or about 1.1 per cent more than the year before. That put Toronto at roughly 1.277 million workers. But officials cautioned those numbers aren't official census figures and that they don't include people who work at home or who move from place to place such as construction workers.
The city official plan says Toronto wants to encourage "compact growth" and intensification of existing city land. There have been conflicts between residents of nearby residential areas and developers who want to put up bigger buildings on streets such as Avenue Rd. or Sheppard Ave. in North York.
But the city says adding more people to Toronto improves energy and land conservation, maximizes use of existing infrastructure and reduces reliance on the automobile, which helps battle climate change and other environmental problems.
Toronto gets added development fees and property taxes when it allows new buildings, but Ashton said that doesn't make up for the cost of supplying transportation, water and other necessities.
"It's great to help stop urban sprawl but it puts a strain on the city," he said.
"The province can't walk away from that. The city's property tax system simply can't support our infrastructure requirements."
AoD
