A special council meeting scheduled for last night was on pace to be an entirely predictable affair – until Pam Damoff arrived to blow it up.
The meeting, part of a budget process that has dragged on for about five months, was the final chance for people to share their thoughts on how the town will spend its money next year.
The first three delegates were regular visitors to council and their presentations offered no surprises.
But then Oakville North—Burlington MP Pam Damoff joined the meeting virtually.
She came to talk about Oakville’s application for a share of the $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund that the federal government has made available to speed up housing construction.
Her focus was squarely on Mayor Rob Burton and what she suggested was his unwillingness to engage with Sean Fraser, the Trudeau government’s housing minister.
"This $4 billion fund is highly competitive - already half of it is subscribed - and I don’t want Oakville to miss out, but we can’t move forward if the mayor does not respond," she said.
"As you review your budget, my question to you is why not include tens of millions of dollars from the federal government?"
Burton denied that he has refused to speak with the minister, telling Damoff that members of his staff have been in discussions with members of Fraser’s staff.
Feds demand density for cash
Last July, Oakville applied for about $36 million in funding to support about 1,200 new residential housing units it will build under a new housing strategy and action plan.
But on Oct. 25, a letter from Fraser said the town needed to take a number of steps to "strengthen its application" before he could consider it.
He urged an end to "exclusionary zoning" that restricts the types of developments allowed in residential neighbourhoods.
Fraser asked the town to consider a rule change allowing four units of housing on all residential properties – a demand he has also made of other municipalities across the country.
Read more: Should your neighbour be able to build a fourplex on his property?
He also urged councillors to:
- Increase housing density around Sheridan College;
- Put designated staff in charge of implementing an affordable housing strategy
- Identify lands for affordable non-market housing; and
- Put town staff rather than politicians in charge of decisions around variances, affordable housing and modular housing applications.
Burton released the letter publicly, asking for community feedback on whether the town should "abandon neighborhood zoning and impose the four other changes to the way we manage development?"
With no public discussions since then, Damoff said she came directly to council "to encourage Oakville to have a conversation with the federal government because nothing gets accomplished when people aren’t talking."
She said town council and staff should offer up creative, made-in-Oakville solutions to get more homes built quickly.
"If you don’t want to do four (units) as-of-right, have a conversation amongst yourself, work with staff – what else can we do to incentivize more housing quickly?"
But Damoff’s suggestion that the town intensify housing around Sheridan College – "I’ve heard horror stories about students crammed into substandard housing," she said – led Ward 6 councillor Tom Adams to bristle.
He noted that two major apartment towers have been built just south of Sheridan in the last couple of years, while another 200-unit building has been approved for right across from town hall.
Adams said he doesn't know what further changes the town can make to increase student housing, but suggested the college should be playing a bigger role in solving the problem.
"If the federal government is bringing in international students and making our local housing more difficult, will you tie student numbers coming into our community to Sheridan and other post-secondary institutions providing student housing?" he asked. "Will you connect those two things?"
Damoff refused to be pinned down on details.
"I’m not here tonight to tell you how to do the application or to negotiate," she said. "I’m here tonight to tell you that Oakville could miss out on a lot of money if we don’t get moving on it. So, let’s get the conversation going."
Burton said Damoff’s delegation was "untoward and unexpected," adding, "I don’t know that a lot is served by negotiating in public like this."
Upon questioning by Ward 3 councillor Janet Haslett-Theall, the mayor did commit to giving town council the final say on the issue of fourplexes and whatever else might be discussed with the minister or his staff.
"No commitment is going to be made without council’s approval," Burton said.
