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By Mayor Tom Mrakas I read a recent op-ed piece in a national newspaper about the need for
more housing in Ontario and what's holding it back. Included in the piece were the stated perspectives of a few
representatives of the building industry. Suffice to say I was disappointed in
what I read; statements such as “nothing can get built” because “developments
are held up in 10 years of red tape.” The thrust of the piece seemed to be saying, to me at least, that there
is a housing “supply” issue in Ontario, the fault of which lay at the feet of
Municipal governments, and our misguided belief that we need to uphold our
Official Plans. If only Municipal governments would just get on board, cut all
the “red tape” of planning policies, rip
up our various municipal zoning bylaws and replace it all with anything-goes
development, then the housing “supply” problem would be solved. As I prefer to deal with facts, rather than self-serving half truths,
let's consider the statement that “nothing can get built” due to “10 years of
red tape.” Not true. By any measure. Any resident in York Region can tell you that
things are getting built. In fact, I
have an inbox full of residents expressing concern about how much is getting
built and the increasing encroachment of development and corresponding loss of
greenspace. But leaving that aside, as per the Region's own staff report, “(York)
Region has an adequate supply of both registered and draft approved and designated
units to support anticipated demand.” In
fact, right now the Region has a designated supply of over 180,000 units. That supply, “…includes units within planning
applications that are proposed as well as potential development and
re-development of lands with a residential designation in local municipal plans
but which currently have no application.” No “red tape” needs to be cut.
Start digging now. Just follow
the Official Plan in the municipality you wish to build and you can build
tomorrow. If the issue is truly one of a lack of supply, then why not build the
thousands of units in the areas already zoned for housing, rather than fight to
open up land that isn't? Time and time again, Councils across the Province are asked to make
exceptions – often substantial exceptions – to what is allowed under our
Official Plans. We see requests to amend
the zoning to allow 20 houses where currently one stands or a 20-storey
building where the zoning allows for seven storeys. And on and on it goes. Municipal Official Plans are collaboratively developed, provincially
approved, municipal planning documents that set out what can be built and where
in a given municipality. It's a plan that makes clear, that when you buy a piece of land, you
know what can be built on it. And what
can't. Yes, OPs are meant to be flexible.
They aren't carved in stone, but who gets to decide how much change in a
community is reasonable? Whose vision of
a community takes precedence? The
Municipal Council elected to serve the people who live there and work there, or
a for-profit driven industry whose primary consideration is their financial
bottom line? The planning goals of a profit-driven development industry are clearly
different than those of a community-focused Municipal Council. One focuses on an individual corporate bottom
line and the other the community building, socio-economic bottom line. Land-use planning decisions made within the context of the Provincially
compliant zoning bylaws of one's municipality are not obstructive or a
capitulation to “NIMBYism” but rather responsible leadership of the communities
we serve. Is there a housing supply issue? Absolutely. But conflating increased availability with
affordability doesn't address the central issue. We need more than just more
housing, we need more housing options. And in particular, purpose built rental
housing. Communities grow and evolve. But
the drivers of community change should be the community itself. If we are to develop a shared bottom line of appropriate growth, we –
municipal leaders, residents, business owners and the development industry
alike – need to work together to identify and deliver the housing needs unique
to our communities so that we build a positive future and a vibrant community. That's all for this
week. As always if you would like to get into contact with me please feel free
to contact me anytime by phone 905-727-3123 ext. 4746 or by email
tmrakas@aurora.ca and if you would like to sign up for more newsletters and
council updates then please visit Mrakas.ca/contact to join the growing list of
Aurorans that are staying informed.
Post date: 2019-04-18 12:55:15
Post date GMT: 2019-04-18 16:55:15
Post modified date: 2019-04-18 12:55:24
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