BUILDING DURHAM

Yesterday, the province’s Housing Affordability Task Force (HATF) released its final report and recommendations. The report proposes a number of new and bold initiatives that the provincial government can undertake to dramatically accelerate the supply and variety of housing in communities across Ontario while reducing and eliminating common bureaucratic barriers.

“The Housing Affordability Task Force Report proposes ambitious and much needed changes to Ontario’s land use planning framework that, if implemented, will help increase the supply and choice of housing across our province,” noted OHBA President Bob Schickedanz. “The report includes a number of policies that OHBA has long called for to make it faster to bring new housing to market, such as enabling the use of pay-on-demand surety bonds, supporting a corporate utility model for municipal infrastructure and other items that make it easier to build complete communities.”

In December 2021, OHBA met with the Task Force to propose supply side solutions aimed at addressing both immediate and long-term housing supply challenges, with measures to make it easier for members to deliver keys to awaiting individuals and families. OHBA strongly welcomes and supports several key components of the HATF report including properly staffing and resourcing the Ontario Land Tribunal; creating the skilled and unskilled labour force our sector needs; and addressing zoning and land use planning barriers that choke supply, all while reducing municipal fees, charges, and red tape to new housing. Combined, these measures are a significant step towards addressing real population growth pressures and long-term future needs so that more Ontario families can achieve the great Canadian dream of home ownership.

“These recommendations symbolize what OHBA and housing champions all over Ontario have been calling on for years,” said President Schickedanz. “With over two million more people calling Ontario home by 2031, we need to build at least one million homes to meet that demand. Implementing these initiatives is absolutely essential to reaching that objective.”

OHBA members across Ontario are poised and ready to build the housing supply Ontario needs to ensure that our province remains the very best place to live, work and play. OHBA thanks the Task Force members for their work to prepare the report and these bold initiatives. We call on housing champions everywhere to read the full report, become engaged, and perhaps most importantly, for the provincial government to implement these changes so we can work together to build the housing supply Ontario needs.

At the February 7th Corporate Services Committee meeting, staff report CORP-22-09 Noise Exemption Request and Notice Process was considered.

The committee voted 4-2 in favour (Yes - Carter, Hurst, Marks, Giberson; No - Neal, Nicholson) of Option A with amendments.

Option A - Staff Administered
Consistent with the process for other City By-laws, the Director, M.L.E.L.S. will receive, review and approve or deny exemptions to the Noise By-law. 
As this option is not tied to the Committee and Council process, this process can be completed in approximately twenty (20) to 30 (thirty) days. 

Process 

• Applicants will be required to submit an application and pay a two hundred fifty dollar ($250) application fee. 
• It is suggested that requests be submitted at least thirty (30) days in advance of the activity in order to allow sufficient time for staff to undertake public notice activities and to allow for public feedback to be received and reviewed by staff. 
• City staff will send a letter to all property occupants within one hundred and twenty (120) metres of the site, via regular mail, advising of details of the request, and the process for residents to submit comments to City staff. For multi-unit properties (e.g. residential, commercial, etc.) under single ownership, the notification will be sent to property owners to post for their occupants. 
• The noise exemption request application and any public feedback will be considered by the Director, M.L.E.L.S. The Director, M.L.E.L.S. would approve or deny the exemption. 
•  If the request is approved, staff will provide notice of the approved exemption on the City’s website, to the applicant, to Ward Councillors, the Mayor, and to those who submitted comments. If the request is not approved by the Director, staff will advise the applicant. 

If Committee were to choose this option, the following motion should be passed: 

1.  That Council approve a by-law to amend Noise By-law 112-82, as amended, and General Fees and Charges By-law 13-2003, as amended as outlined in Option “A” of Section 5.2 of Report CORP-22-09 “Noise Exemption Request and Notice Process”, dated February 2, 2022, and in a form and content acceptable to Legal Services and the Commissioner of Corporate Services; and, Report to Corporate Services Committee Item: CORP-22-09 Meeting Date: February 7, 2022 Page 6 
2. That the requirements of Notice By-law 147-2007 regarding notice to the public for amendments to the General Fees and Charges By-law 13-2003, as amended, be waived. 

This option was amended to add:

• That the Ward councillors and the Mayor be informed that an exemption request has been submitted to the City, and
• That this provision be subject to a 3 year review to seek council approval to either continue with or cease this practice.

Task Force report is part of the government's consultations with municipalities, public and industry to increase market housing supply

TORONTO ― Ontario has published the report from the Housing Affordability Task Force, which highlights expert recommendations for additional measures to increase the supply of market housing to address the housing crisis. The Task Force is part of Ontario’s ongoing three-part consultation with industry, municipalities, and the public to help the government identify and implement real solutions to address the housing supply crisis.

“Everyone has a role to play in addressing the housing supply crisis. As our government consults with municipalities, the public, and industry leaders and experts, we are balancing these perspectives to develop practical, forward-thinking policies that unlock and fast-track all types of housing for all types of Ontarians,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “I’d like to thank Jake Lawrence and the entire Task Force for their hard work, including conducting extensive consultations with other stakeholders, to develop their report.”

The Task Force report’s recommendations include five main areas to quickly increase the supply of market housing, to meet a goal of adding 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years: 

• Make changes to planning policies and zoning to allow for greater density and increase the variety of housing.
• Reduce and streamline urban design rules to lower costs of development.
• Depoliticize the approvals process to address NIMBYism and cut red tape to speed up housing.
• Prevent abuse of the appeal process and address the backlog at the Ontario Land Tribunal by prioritizing cases that increase housing.
• Align efforts between all levels of government to incentivize more housing.

Additionally, the Task Force’s report makes other recommendations to increase housing supply over the long-term, including to digitize and modernize the approvals and planning process, grow the skilled labour workforce, and encourage new pathways to home ownership.

“When Premier Ford and Minister Clark created the Task Force our instructions were clear: to deliver concrete, actionable recommendations to address the housing affordability crisis by getting more homes built,” said Jake Lawrence, Chair of the Housing Affordability Task Force and Chief Executive Officer and Group Head, Global Banking and Markets at Scotiabank. “Lengthy reviews, bureaucratic red tape, and costly appeals are making it too difficult to build new housing. We propose an ambitious and achievable goal to build 1.5 million homes over the next ten years and the steps needed to get there.”

The Task Force report is part of the government’s broader plan to seek feedback from a variety of sources, including through municipal and public consultations, to identify and implement measures to address the housing supply crisis and get homes built faster. In January, Premier Ford and Minister Clark hosted the Ontario-Municipal Housing Summit and the Rural Housing Affordability Roundtable to coordinate efforts with municipalities, and the government recently held an online public consultation for Ontarians to share their input, which received over 2,000 responses.

At the December 13th council meeting, Oshawa councillors voted unanimously to maintain its current policies in regards to building parks in new developments.

The issue first came up in November of 2019, when Councillor McConkey brought forward two motions, DS-19-200 and DS-21-134.

DS-19-200 Notice of Motion – Construction of New City Parks

“That the Commissioner, Development Services Department draft a policy for Council to review and determine implementing that will ensure new city parks are constructed at the same time new subdivision roads are constructed in order that new residents are best served in a timely way with park amenities.”

DS-21-134 Notice of Motion – Policy regarding the Completion of Area Parks and Trails

“Whereas the most effective time to complete parks and trails is early in a development project; 

Now therefore staff develop the wording of a clear policy that ensures builder/developers are responsible for the timely completion of area parks and trails in new residential development so that any growing dissatisfaction from delays is avoided.”

DRHBA responded through letters and meetings with staff.  As a result, the recommendations made to the Development Services Committee and later to Council from staff were:

1. That, pursuant to Report DS-21-226 dated November 24, 2021, the City maintain its current policies that relate to the timing of development of new neighbourhood parks in new subdivisions and that enables developers to request that Council authorize the developer to finish the park including any playground facilities and appropriate park furniture.
2. That, pursuant to Report DS-21-226 dated November 24, 2021, the City maintain its current policy that requires developers to construct trails in new subdivisions in a timely manner, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, Development Services Department and the Commissioner, Community Services Department.

Councillor Nicholson made a motion to refer the report back to staff, as he felt this was rushed, the public wasn't consulted, and he wanted to be able to force developers to build parks.  That motion lost.

Councillor Hurst made an amendment that passed.  While the minutes are not yet available, and Oshawa does not show amendments or read them out during the live meeting, the gist of the amendment was to formally require staff to regularly update council on the status of park and trail development.  

The amended staff recommendation then passed unanimously.

The City of Oshawa is currently reviewing a new Neighbourhood Traffic Management Guide.  The City has hired IBI Group as a consultant on this project.

On December 8th, IBI Group provided a presentation on the draft version of their Neighbourhood Traffic Management Guide. 

This project is currently in the consultation phase and comments will be received until January 24, 2022.

Comments can be sent to Stacey Hawkins at DRHBA or to Brian Cox, Traffic Engineering Technologist at the City of Oshawa.

On December 1, 2021, Oshawa held a special council meeting to review the final staff report on the Oshawa Parking Study.  Report CNCL-21-110 was presented by staff and council had the opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.

The special council meeting can be viewed here.

Councillors voiced concerns that the report seemed to be indicating that less parking would be required for developments in the future.  They also felt that having bicycle parking in lieu of parking spots was not realistic of how Oshawa residents get around.

Council voted to send the report back to staff with instructions for staff to reach out to each councillor for comments.