This month, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark introduced Bill 108: The More Homes, More Choice Act as a proposed suite of legislative changes to address Ontario’s housing crisis, increase the supply of housing that is affordable, and provide families with more meaningful choices on where to live, work and raise their families.
Our plan would make it easier to build more housing near transit and help create vibrant, multimodal, and transit-oriented neighbourhoods with the right mix of housing for people to rent or own. We will maintain responsible environmental stewardship including protecting the Greenbelt in all its beauty.
In addition, to encourage the development of rental and affordable community housing, the provincial government is proposing to allow development charges for these projects to be paid over a five-year period which reduces the upfront cost.
Our proposed changes to the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal (LPAT) will take the best from the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) and from the LPAT to create a system that can make final decisions in a timely manner – producing the type of housing where and when we need it most.
We want to ensure that barriers are removed for those seeking to launch an appeal, and are moving toward a cost-recovery model so that home builders pay more for the system, not the people of Ontario. In addition, we have added 11 new adjudicators, which is a 45% increase, to clear the backlog of an estimated 100,000 housing units, over the next year and half.
The provincial government is working hard to eliminate the backlog, reduce delays and ensure the LPAT can deliver fair decisions in the interest of people and communities across Ontario.
Our government has also announced its intention to consult with our municipal partners on the development of a community benefits charge that will take the politics out of planning. Wefirmly believe that growth must pay for growth. The community benefits charge would be used to help fund growth-related capital costs for community benefits, such as libraries and day care services.
We will work with our municipal partners to support a planning framework which puts people and communities first; protecting vital municipal revenue streams, and making community benefits charges more transparent and predictable.
It is possible to build a brighter future while protecting our proud past. It is for this reason that we are working with property owners and communities to protect heritage properties while managing change and allowing for development that makes sense in specific areas to make sure that new homes can be built and Ontario’s most valuable sites are protected.
The people of Ontario are rightly proud of our history and expect to see sensible rules that ensure our heritage is protected.
In More Homes, More Choice (Bill 108) we outline improvements to encourage and enhance provincial direction to municipalities, property owners and the public on how to use Ontario Heritage Act tools to protect heritage properties while managing compatible changes, provide clearer rules to facilitate timely and transparent decision-making, and create consistent appeals processes for Ontario Heritage Act decisions.
Our government is working hard to deliver real results for residents and address Ontario’s housing crisis, increase the supply of housing that is affordable, and provide families with more meaningful choices on where to live, work and raise their families.
(Bill 108) Proposed More Homes, More Choice Act’s negative implications released by the Town of Oakville on May 29, 2019.