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Some 55 Recommendations Stir Municipal Mayors
It didn’t take long for mayors to voice their concerns about the Ontario Task Force Housing Report. Though they support many of the goals in the report, they want provincial leaders to directly consult municipalities before acting on the report’s recommendations. The Housing Report has 55 recommendations to modernize the municipal housing approval process. We will focus on some of the more dramatic proposals in this article as follows.
Allow 4 units on a Single Residential Lot Plus
One of the most drastic proposals is to reduce exclusionary municipal zoning bylaws “through binding provincial action.” That would allow up to “four units and up to four stories on a single residential lot. Modernization of the building code is also called for to remove barriers to affordable construction. As examples the report mentions “single-staircase construction for up to four stories” and “single egress.” The report also wants to permit “multi-tenant housing (renting rooms within a dwelling) province-wide”, as well as permitting “secondary suites, garden suites, and laneway houses province-wide.” The phrase “as of right” is used in each of the proposals. As of right would allow development of density in single family zonings with case-by-case approvals.
Remove Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) Resistance
The report discusses the “not-in-my-back-yard” resistance to providing a greater housing supply. The resistance is politicized as municipal councilors get in step with community opposition from the people who elect them. Rather than “take the political heat” some feel that it is better to let the Ontario Land Tribunal approve development on appeal. Yet this only causes long delays and large cost increases. To disallow opposition and politicization the task force “emphasizes the need for a more permissive land use, planning, and approvals system.”
The Cost of Appeal to the OLT and Punitive Damages
Currently it costs $400 to appeal a project to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Even a single individual can appeal. This can tie up new housing for years creating abuse of the process and contributing to an existing glut of over 1,000 cases. The Task Force suggests $10,000 as a filing fee to appeal. They also want “to weed out or prevent appeals aimed purely at delaying projects. What’s more they want full costs to the successful party in an appeal made by a third party or a municipal council that overrides a staff approval. A municipality can also be made to pay for punitive damages if it refuses an application to avoid an approval. The proposals aim to reduce appeals and fix the system.
Recommendation No. 12: Override Municipal Policies
In their 12th recommendation, some of the suggestions are as follows:
• “Repeal or override municipal policies, zoning, or plans that prioritize the preservation of physical character of neighbour-hood,
• “Exempt from site plan approval and public consultation all projects of 10 units or less that conform to the Official Plan and require only minor variances,
• Establish province-wide zoning standards
The report further argues that Heritage protections of neighbourhoods prevent more homes being built, limiting supply. For full report Google Housing Affordability Task Force Report or click on Link below.
https://files.ontario.ca/mmah-housing-affordability-task-force-report-en-2022-02-07-v2.pdf
