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In an effort to boost the stock of affordable housing across Ontario, the provincial government has introduced legislation that would bring a host of changes to four provincial acts. The move follows an update to the Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy in March, which focuses on making various housing programs more people-centred, while also providing municipalities with the tools and flexibility to meet local challenges. One of those integral tools—and one sure to assist in the reduction of Toronto's growing affordable housing waitlist—is inclusionary zoning.
The Promoting Affordable Housing Act, 2016 would amend the Planning Act and grant municipalities the power to mandate the provision of affordable units within new residential developments as a condition of approval. Inclusionary zoning has been a longstanding practice in the United States, where cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco are among the over 500 municipalities that currently use the measure. Canada has experimented with the idea as well—Manitoba passed legislation in 2013—but no city in that province has yet exercised the power. Several influential political and planning figures at city hall, including Jennifer Keesmaat, have been campaigning for inclusionary zoning powers for years.
If passed, a number of other key amendments to existing legislation would be made. Secondary suites in new homes would be exempt from development charges under the amendments, which would also reform the Residential Tenancies Act to "prevent unnecessary evictions from social housing and modernize how rental property standards are enforced." Through the Housing Services Act, local Service Managers would be given more flexibility to administer and deliver social housing in their communities. They would also be required to conduct local enumeration of homeless individuals in order to assist decision-making and program design.
The province will now consult with municipalities, developers and other stakeholders to advance the development of an inclusionary zoning framework. The resulting framework would allow municipalities to implement measures related to building height and density, and offer specific development incentives such as reduced parking requirements, waived or reduced fees, and faster approvals. That would help offset concern and potential issues arising from the economic profitability of new development proposals, which have until now, incorporated affordable housing on an infrequent and piecemeal basis.
The updated Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy was informed by public input received at 38 stakeholder meetings over last summer and 113 formal written submissions. The strategy also incorporates recommendations from the Expert Panel on Homelessness’ 2015 report as well as the report by the Mayor’s Task Force on Toronto Community Housing Corporation. The strategy is supported by a $178 million investment over three years that has been earmarked in the 2016 Ontario Budget. The Promoting Affordable Housing Act, 2016 is expected to be adopted late this year or early 2017.
Do you believe inclusionary zoning is an effective tool to create additional affordable housing? What impacts do you think the legislation will have on the feasibility of new building projects? Let us know by leaving a comment in the field provided below.
