Ontario land use changes.The chance a MZO will be threatened again at Glen Abbey appears to be going down.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is unveiling sweeping new legislation aimed to speed up housing construction that will cut fees for affordable and rental projects and increase density near transit stations while allowing three units on any residential lot across the province.
According to a briefing document the government provided to reporters, the changes will also bar residents or environmental groups from challenging developers before the province’s land tribunal and assign new housing targets to the province’s biggest municipalities. The bill would also loosen rules for projects with fewer than 10 units, reduce the role of regional governments to approve housing projects and cut the number of public meetings municipalities must hold.
The changes would also “streamline” and standardize the way local conservation authorities issue permits for development in wetlands or flood-prone areas.
The government also says it intends to develop a number of new policies, including plans to fold its Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which meant to contain suburban sprawl, into its province-wide planning policy. Environmentalists have previously criticized the government for weakening the Growth Plan.
On Tuesday, Mr. Ford and his Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, addressed a business luncheon sponsored by the landlord and real estate industry and summarized some of the key planks in new legislation being introduced that they say is aimed at getting 1.5 million more homes built over the next decade.
The government has already made a series of changes aimed at cutting red tape and getting more homes built faster, among them loosening density requirements for future suburban development. But it has also previously used provincial powers to boost density near public-transit stations. It has also touted giving mayors veto powers to push forward housing or housing-related infrastructure projects.
On Tuesday, Mr. Clark said the latest proposed changes are needed to deal with the added housing cost that come with delays, development charges and other fees - all of which add tens of thousands of dollars to cost of each home, making housing unaffordable.
“The policies would, if passed represent the boldest, most transformational changes made to date,” Mr. Clark said. “They are going to cut through red tape, unnecessary costs, other bottlenecks that are standing in the way of housing supply for too long on hour province.”
He said affordable housing, rental housing and nonprofit would see reductions or exemptions or freezes on the development charges and parkland charges they are typically expected to pay municipalities.
Mr. Clark said the bill, if passed, would “allow more gentle density” by allowing up to three units on any piece of urban land across the province, without any need for permits. (This is already the case in Toronto and some other municipalities, where laneway suites and basement apartments are allowed.)
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The province’s own task force on housing had recommended going farther, allowing four storeys and six units on residential lots, without needing special permission, ending what is known as exclusionary zoning that requires only single-family homes.
The province’s new proposed changes come on top of an announcement on Monday that the government was increasing it non-resident speculation tax from 20 per cent to 25 per cent.
Media were not allowed to attend the ticketed Toronto Region Board of Trade event, which was livestreamed on the Premier’s YouTube channel. More details on the bill’s provisions were to be revealed later Tuesday afternoon, when Mr. Clark was to meet with reporters.
While the province last year hit more than 100,000 new housing starts, a level not seen in decades, it will need to exceed that to hit is 1.5-million home target. And Mr. Clark acknowledged that interest rates and inflation could make this difficult.