In March, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) announced that they would be delaying the implementation of the Excess Soil Requirements initiative through ERO #019-5203.
In response, OHBA submitted correspondence to the province.
If you have any related questions or require clarification, please reach out to OHBA Director of Planning Policy and Advocacy, Larry Kotseff.
At the April 11, 2022 Oshawa Development Services Committee meeting, members of the committee passed report DS-22-83: City Comments on Proposed Amendments to the Planning Act Under Bill 109, the "More Homes For Everyone Act, 2022", and the Province's Proposed Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator Guideline (All Wards) as part of the consent agenda. As it was passed as part of the consent agenda, there was no discussion on the report.
Report DS-22-83 contains staff comments on the proposed provincial legislation.
At the April 11 Oshawa Development Services Committee meeting, report DS-22-76 Durham Region's Municipal Comprehensive Review: City Comments on the Region of Durham's Growth Management Study - Alternative Land Need Scenarios was pulled for discussion.
Committee voted to suspend the rules to hear a delegation from Michael May, P.Eng., General Manager of Delta Urban, who was speaking on behalf of the Columbus Landowners' Group. May also submitted correspondence in addition to his delegation, which advocated for a revised "Option 2."
This option would include the "much needed affordable middle," and included:
Housing Unit Mix of new units:
Intensification Rate: 50%
Designated Greenfield Area Density: 57 people and jobs per hectare
New Community Are Land Need: 2,600 hectares (6,425 acres)
Councillor Chapman put forward the following motion:
"That pursuant to Report DS-22-76 dated April 6, 2022 City Council will endorse scenario 2A as submitted by the Columbus Developers Group as Item DS-22-90 as the City's recommended scenario on the Alternative Land Need Scenarios Report prepared by the Region of Durham as part of Envision Durham, the Municipal Comprehensive Review of the Durham Region Official Plan."
This motion passed, and the recommendation will be brought to council at the April 25, 2022 council meeting.
The Town of Whitby is currently undergoing a Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw Review Update and have just released their Phase II Reports.
The Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw Review will occur in 4 major phases and to date the Town have concluded Phase I and are nearing the completion of Phase II:
The following reports have now been released:
More information on the project can be found on the In the Zone website.
Comments on this phase are due May 26. If you have any comments or concerns, please contact Stacey.
The Region of Durham has released their 2022 Regional Transit DC Background Study, which you can read here.
While the current bylaw is set to expire on December 31, 2022, Regional Council has authorized staff to have a new bylaw in place by July 1, 2022.
The background study is recommending an increase of 65% for residential rates, and the proposed rates can be viewed here:
Important Dates:
If you have any comments or concerns, please contact Stacey.
The provincial election will be called sometime this spring, and in anticipation, the Ontario Home Builders' Association (OHBA) has launched a third party advertising campaign:
You can visit the full campaign website here: https://www.ontariobuildmorehomes.ca/
As part of the campaign, OHBA is also looking to interview people as part of a Facebook video stream. Volunteers will be asked to meet on May 3 for about 15-20 minutes to talk about the current housing market and what they are seeing/experiencing. If you are willing to volunteer, please contact Stacey as soon as possible.
As the province continues to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, DRHBA members and the residential construction sector have continued to deliver critically needed housing supply in communities across Ontario. This has been done over the last two years, while increasing health and safety measures on jobsites and was only possible because of the ongoing steadfast resolve, passion and commitment that our members have to our industry.
While our sector continues to face supply chain, material and labour challenges, members are continuing the vital work of keeping our jobsites safe and healthy while deserving the keys for a new or newly renovated home to awaiting families. Keeping our job and worksites safe and healthy has been critical to ensuring that we can continue delivering the housing supply and choice families need. The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development continues to actively inspect jobsites across the province.
Members should be aware that there have been changes made to the requirements under the Reopening Ontario Act (ROA), which took effect on March 21, 2022. These changes include new guidelines around the use of the following measures in the workplace:
Despite these changes, we must not waver in our commitment to health and safety. Members must stay vigilant and proactive in ensuring health and safety on jobsites, sales & decor centres, offices and all places of work.
Members are encouraged to reach out to the Ministry business information line at 1-888-444-3659 with any questions or concerns regarding these changes.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced Phase 2 in seeking feedback by April 23 on Phase 2 of the Greenbelt consultation process as part of ERO #019-4485. The Ministry is seeking feedback on proposed changes to the Greenbelt Plan (including the schedules) that could add 13 new Urban River Valley (URV) areas to the Greenbelt. While this ERO posting relates specifically to the proposed amendment to the Greenbelt Plan, there are two related ERO postings as part of the Phase 2 consultation:
Since 2013, OHBA has supported the addition of URVs into the Greenbelt as a way to effectively and meaningfully grow the Greenbelt and protected areas for generations to come. OHBA will be reviewing the changes proposed as part of Phase 2 of the consultation and responding accordingly as they did during Phase 1.
Yesterday, Steve Clark, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, tabled the provincial government's new housing legislation. Entitled the More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022, this legislation takes major steps to reduce red tape, streamline development approval processes, work with all levels of government and industry to accelerate the new housing stock and, charts a roadmap to implement the recommendations from the Housing Affordability Task Force with a commitment to bring forward annual Housing Supply Action Plans each year over the next four years.
See below relevant links to the legislation, OHBA’s news release and the provincial news release.
See below a detailed breakdown on key parts of the legislation that members should be aware of. OHBA will be reviewing the legislation in full and participating in consultation processes in the near future.
SITE PLAN CONTROL: Proposed Planning Act and City of Toronto Act, 2006 amendments would streamline site plan requirements and approval processes by:
Proposed Planning Act amendments that would apply to all site plan applications received on and after January 1, 2023, would incentivize municipalities to make timely decisions by:
PLANS OF SUBDIVISION: Proposed Planning Act amendments would streamline subdivision approval processes by:
ZONING BY-LAW AMENDMENTS Proposed Planning Act amendments that would apply to all rezoning applications received on and after January 1, 2023, would incentivize municipalities to make timely decisions by:
COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND HOUSING ACCELERATOR The government is introducing a new tool to help municipalities accelerate their own planning process – the Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator (CIHA). It would help municipalities speed up approvals for housing and community infrastructure, while increasing transparency and accountability. This tool would:
BUILDING CODE Proposed changes to the Building Code:
DEVELOPMENT-RELATED CHARGES Increase transparency and certainty of development charges (DCs), community benefit charges (CBCs) and parkland dedication levies by:
SURETY BONDS Proposed regulation-making authority related to the use of surety bonds and other instruments used to secure development obligations by municipalities, that would enable future regulations to:
ONTARIO LAND TRIBUNAL (OLT) The provincial government will invest over $19 million to help the OLT and the Landlord and Tenant Board speed up decisions and reduce the backlog of cases. Funding will:
Proposed changes to the Planning Act to assist in depoliticizing planning decisions,
IMPROVED DATA
BETTER UTILIZING PROVINCIALLY OWNED LANDS
LAND SPECULATION
REGULATORY AND WARRANTY CHANGES
At the March 9 meeting of the Region of Durham Committee of the Whole, the committee received report 2022-COW-7, which details the Regional Incentive Program for Affordable Housing.
Proposed Framework for the At Home Incentive Program:
5.1 The proposed At Home Incentive Program is intended to support the development of new affordable rental housing projects. The program will provide the opportunity to increase the supply of affordable rental housing for low-income households, including households on the DASH wait list, and to grow the supply of safe, adequate and affordable rental housing.
5.2 Eligible affordable housing rental projects under the At Home Incentive Program will provide a minimum of 5 affordable housing units and will include:
a) New construction;
b) Conversion of non-residential buildings to purpose-built rental housing;
c) Addition of new affordable buildings/units to existing sites/buildings;
d) Community housing redevelopment that increases the supply of affordable housing units.
5.3 To expedite project delivery and to enable competition for Regional incentives, staff recommend that the Region publicly announce invitations for eligible affordable housing proposals through an annual call for applications. This approach can be facilitated through a registry of non-profit and private developers of affordable rental housing, which will be regularly updated by staff.
5.4 A minimum of 5 per cent of total units in eligible projects must be affordable at no more than 100 per cent of CMHC average market rent for a minimum 25-year period of affordability. However, a higher proportion of affordable units, deeper affordability and a longer affordability period will be preferred.
5.5 Eligible projects will be evaluated based on real-time community need and Regional preferences. Consideration of project eligibility will include an evaluation of the following, but not limited to:
a) financial and operational ability to carry the project and ability to meet debt coverage ratio requirements;
b) number of units and percentage of units in the project that will be affordable;
c) period of affordability;
d) depth of affordability;e)community need, including but not limited to, targeted groups, unit size and geographic location;
f) cost per unit;
g) extent to which the project meets accessibility standards with respect to barrier-free designs, elevators and other accessibility features;
h) extent to which the project aligns with the Region’s climate emergency declaration and supports implementation of the Durham Community Energy Plan, including consideration of the project’s energy efficiency measures to reduce utility operating costs and its operational GHG emissions footprint; and
i) proximity to transit, community amenities and services.
5.6 To be successful in providing adequate funding for the At Home Incentive Program, base funding is necessary to ensure that a critical mass of units can be funded. To initiate the At Home Incentive Program, it is recommended that the Region establish an At Home Incentive Program Reserve Fund (AHIPRF). To activate the Program, it is recommended that $5 million from the Regional Revitalization Program Reserve be transferred to the recommended new AHIPRF.
5.7 To optimize project outcomes, the At Home Incentive Program will be stackable with other programs offered by the Region and other levels of government including but not limited to:
a) the Regional Revitalization Plan (RRP) which allows the Region to providecapital grants for private redevelopment projects, sponsored by the areamunicipalities within their respective Community Improvement Plan (CIP)areas. The RRP has been successful in providing capital grants to eligiblerevitalization projects within downtown areas;
b) the Housing Services Development Charges Reserve Fund for eligibleprojects; and
c) incentive programs or funding opportunities offered by federal or provinciallevels of government.
5.8 To activate the At Home Incentive Program, staff will develop a set of program guidelines and administrative framework, that will include but not be limited to:
a) project eligibility requirements;
b) details of program administration, including the process for inviting and reviewing candidate affordable housing projects, processes for ensuring that affordability targets are achieved;
c) monitoring and resourcing requirements to ensure that awarded projects continue to be compliant with program requirements;
d)legal remedies in the event of a default, either during construction or once an awarded project is in operation, including repayment of Regional financial assistance or disposition of projects; and
e) a communications plan to maximize uptake of the program.
You can view the presentation and discussion here.
If you have any questions, comments and concerns, contact Stacey.
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Phone: 905-579-8080
Email: info@drhba.com
Address:
1-1255 Terwillegar Avenue
Oshawa, Ontario
L1J 7A4
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