Oshawa – March 23, 2023 – The Durham Region Home Builders’ Association (DRHBA) has released the finalists for the 2023 Awards of Excellence. This year, DRHBA had over 100 entries and judges from across Canada have scored the submissions and chosen this year’s winners.
These prestigious awards celebrate excellence in new homes, home renovations, innovative technology and construction, outstanding presentation, and marketing of projects within Durham Region.
Please join us in person for this year’s Awards of Excellence ceremony! DRHBA will be hosting the in-person gala on Thursday, May 4th at 5:30 p.m. at the Towneplace Suites by Marriott, located at 1011 Bloor Street East in Oshawa. Please click here [hyperlink to be added] to purchase your tickets. Don’t delay – ticket sales close on April 14, 2023.
If you have any questions regarding DRHBA’s Awards of Excellence, please contact Stacey at s.hawkins@drhba.com or 905-579-8080 ext. 2.
This year’s finalists include:
Sales & Marketing Finalists
Excellence in Digital Advertisement
Excellence in Interior Decorating
Excellence in Logo Design
Excellence in New Homes Sales Office
Excellence in Sales Brochure Design
Excellence in Signage
Excellence in Social Media
Excellence in Website Design
Finalists – New Home Design - Custom
Excellence in Custom Built Bathroom Design
Excellence in Custom Built Home Under 3,500 sq.ft.
Excellence in Custom Built Homes Over 3,501 sq.ft.
Excellence in Custom Built Kitchen Design
Finalists – New Home Design – Production
Excellence in Back-to-Back Townhome
Excellence in Building Design (Mid-Rise & High-Rise)
Excellence in Multi-Unit Suite Design
Excellence in Production Built Bathroom Design
Excellence in Production Built Home Under 2,000 sq.ft.
Excellence in Production Built Home 2,001 – 3,000 sq.ft.
Excellence in Production Built Home 3,001 – 4,000 sq.ft.
Excellence in Production Built Kitchen Design
Excellence in Semi-Detached or Townhome under 2,000 sq.ft.
Excellence in Semi-Detached or Townhome Over 2,000 sq.ft.
Finalists – RenoMark Home Renovator Awards
Excellence in Bathroom Renovation
Excellence in Home Renovation/Addition Over $250,001
Excellence in Home Renovation/Addition Under $250,000
Excellence in Kitchen Renovation
Excellence in Unique Space
Outstanding Achievement Awards
Excellence in Training & Development
Innovation of the Year
Sales Team of the Year
Supplier of the Year
Trade of the Year
Renovator of the Year
Corporate Citizenship
Community of the Year
Green Builder of the Year
Builder of the Year – Small Volume
Builder of the Year – Large Volume
The Durham Region Home Builders' Association is excited to announce that through a partnership with the Canadian Home Builders' Association and the Region of Durham, we are offering a free training opportunity specifically for renovators!
The training includes Advanced Building Science, followed by Net Zero Renovator Bootcamp. Typically these courses would cost several thousand dollars to attend, but we are able to offer them for free this one time only, so we hope you take advantage of this opportunity!
The Advanced Building Science course will be held virtually. The course is two half days, and will be held in the afternoon on Wednesday, February 22 and Thursday, February 23, 2023. The content will be delivered through EnerQuality, and the trainer is Stephen Magneron of Homesol. The course is the prerequisite to the Net Zero Renos Bootcamp.
Register here for Advanced Building Science
The Net Zero Renos Bootcamp will be held in-person at Deer Creek in Ajax. The course is two full days and will run on Wednesday, March 8 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday, March 9 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participants who complete the course will receive their Net Zero Renovator certificates.
Participants must complete the Advanced Building Science course in order to attend the Net Zero Renos Bootcamp.
Register here for Net Zero Renovator Bootcamp
The Town of Ajax is currently undergoing a development application fees review.
On February 9, Watson & Associates provided a presentation to stakeholders to review the process used and the proposed new rates.
Comments will be received until February 27, 2023.
If you have any comments, questions or concerns, contact Stacey.
The Region of Durham has released the draft new Regional Official Plan (ROP), which is culmination of work completed through Envision Durham, the Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR) of Durham's ROP.
The draft new ROP addresses a wide variety of strategic land use planning and development matters. Envision Durham also represents the Region's provincially mandated exercise to ensure that the ROP conforms with provincial plans or does not conflict with them; has regard to matters of provincial interest; and is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement.
Once adopted by Regional Council, the amendment will be submitted to the Minister of Municipal Affairs for approval under Sections 17 and 26 of the Planning Act, RSO 1990.
In addition, the Region has released draft mapping for the new ROP:
The deadline for comments on the draft ROP and the maps is April 3, 2023.
A public open house will be held on March 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the main atrium at the Durham Regional Headquarters at 605 Rossland Road East in Whitby.
If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please contact Stacey.
As approved by Report CF-23-02 on January 9, 2023, City staff are looking to receive feedback from the public and industry stakeholders on the proposed Community Benefits Charge (C.B.C.) Strategy.
The Community Benefits Charge is a new charge that can be collected by municipalities to ensure funding is available for a range of community services that are needed due to growth. The C.B.C. can be collected on high-density development and redevelopment of five or more storeys with ten or more residential units. Certain types of development, such as long-term care homes and hospices, retirement homes, universities, colleges and Indigenous Institutes, as well as not-for-profit housing, are exempt from the C.B.C.
In order to impose and collect the charges, the City needed to complete a C.B.C. Strategy and By-law, which provides details of the City’s increased capital needs and services based on eligible development.
The following capital needs and services are included in the City of Oshawa’s Proposed C.B.C. Strategy:
The Proposed C.B.C. fee is shown in the following table.
Schedule “A” Community Benefits Charges
Report 2022-COW-33: Implications of Bill 23 on the Region of Durham was brought to the Region of Durham’s Committee of the Whole on December 14, where it was passed.
The report was then brought to council on December 21, where it was also passed.
The report identified key concerns of the Region, which include:
Conclusions of the report include:
The Town of Ajax hosted a General Government Committee meeting on December 12, 2022, which was followed immediately after by their council meeting.
The Committee, then Council, passed Report 2022-PDS-29: Bill 23: More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 Town of Ajax Comments.
Key comments from the report include:
The Town of Whitby hosted a special council meeting in late November to discuss the potential impacts of Bill 23. The meeting included a presentation from Roger Saunders, Commissioner of Planning and Development, that focused on municipal planning in Ontario. In addition to explaining how planning works, he also detailed the current and expected growth in Whitby, as well as current and approved proposals pending or under construction.
A second presentation was made by Lori Tesolin, Supervisor of Policy and Heritage and Principal Planner, and Jennifer Hess, Manager of Development Financing and Long Term Financial Planning that focused on providing an overview of proposed changes included in Bill 23.
Both presentations can be viewed here.
Council then approved report PDD-65-22: Bill 23, More Homes Built Fast Act, 2022. Staff outlined their concerns in the report, which included:
At the December 12, 2022 council meeting, Clarington Council passed report PDS-054-22, which included key comments and concerns on Bill 23.
Some of those comments included:
At the meeting, council added the following comments:
Council also added that provincial intervention in the form of settlement area boundary expansions, Minister’s Zoning Orders and changes to the Greenbelt is not required; nor is it supported; and that Clarington is concerned about the impacts that the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) could have for the people of Clarington, including seniors and those on fixed income who cannot afford property tax increases that could result from the loss of development charges; and that community services, building design, park space, sprawl and unplanned density are also a concern.
Council has directed staff to work with AMO, Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) and Durham Region to mitigate the impacts of Bill 23 on the quality of life in the community.
A copy of the report and these comments be sent to the provincial government, including the Premier and specific MPPs, as well as neighbouring municipalities, the Region and AMO.
The provincial government’s newest housing legislation, the More Homes Built Faster Act has passed and brings forward numerous important changes that will be beneficial for OHBA members. Some measures come into force immediately, others at a future date. See the key highlights below and the breakdown document for more details.
o Five-year phase-in of development charge rate increases, beginning with a 20% reduction in the first year, with the reduction decreasing by 5% each year until year five when the full new rate applies. This is proposed to apply to all new development charge by-laws passed since January 1, 2022. o Discount remains unchanged, however, further transitional matters now provided. Rental housing discounts do not apply for a development in which a building permit was issued prior to November 28, 2022, unless a Development Charges Agreement has been entered into. If there is a Development Charges Agreement, the rental housing discounts will apply to all development charges payable after November 27, 2022. o Development charge reductions now based on development charge by-laws passed on or after Jan 1, 2022. o Development charge by-laws will expire every 10 years, instead of every five years. By-laws can still be updated any time. o Cap the interest paid on phased DCs for rental, institutional and non-profit housing to prime plus 1%.
o Five-year phase-in of development charge rate increases, beginning with a 20% reduction in the first year, with the reduction decreasing by 5% each year until year five when the full new rate applies. This is proposed to apply to all new development charge by-laws passed since January 1, 2022.
o Discount remains unchanged, however, further transitional matters now provided. Rental housing discounts do not apply for a development in which a building permit was issued prior to November 28, 2022, unless a Development Charges Agreement has been entered into. If there is a Development Charges Agreement, the rental housing discounts will apply to all development charges payable after November 27, 2022.
o Development charge reductions now based on development charge by-laws passed on or after Jan 1, 2022.
o Development charge by-laws will expire every 10 years, instead of every five years. By-laws can still be updated any time.
o Cap the interest paid on phased DCs for rental, institutional and non-profit housing to prime plus 1%.
o Third-party appeal rights of consent and minor variance applications significantly restricted to certain public bodies. Current third-party appeals are dismissed unless they qualify for limited transition.
Please also see the Bill 23 Key Changes Breakdown.
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Phone: 905-579-8080
Email: info@drhba.com
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1-1255 Terwillegar Avenue
Oshawa, Ontario
L1J 7A4
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