Ontario proposes new powers to allow cities to expand boundaries for housing
Steve Clark says changes will help province in goal to build 1.5M new homes
Ontario is proposing to allow municipalities to expand their settlement boundaries more quickly and easily in order to open up more land for housing.
Steve Clark, Ontario's housing minister, introduced the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act Wednesday, saying the new legislation will help the province reach its goal of building 1.5 million homes in the next decade.
"We know that more progress and more action is required for our housing goals, particularly in the face of economic uncertainty, inflation and soaring interest rates," Clark said after introducing his legislation at Queen's Park.
"[The new legislation] would give municipalities more flexibility, reduce duplication, create more homes in urban and rural communities, support local economies, and create jobs while continuing to protect public safety and the environment."
The proposed legislation would change the guiding principles that municipalities have to follow in their land-use planning, such as zoning and housing development, setting the stage for greater housing density in downtown areas and along major transit routes.
Some of the major changes include:
- Requiring municipalities to provide a range and mix of housing options, such as low- and mid-rise apartments or multigenerational housing.
- Allowing Ontario farmers to build up to three new residences on their existing property.
- Requiring 29 of Ontario's largest and fastest-growing municipalities to develop a plan for growth in major transit station areas, and other strategic growth areas, such as downtowns.
- Giving municipalities more flexibility when deciding where and when to expand their settlement area boundaries.
Asked whether the changes would see farmland turned to urban sprawl, Clark said "we believe as a government that all of Ontario is a place to grow."
"All of our municipal partners need to look at all the measures they have at their disposal, both inside their urban boundary and outside as well."
But Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said there is more than enough land within existing boundaries to build the homes Ontario needs.
"Make no mistake, these eleventh-hour attacks on land use planning rules are designed to open the floodgates to reckless, expensive sprawl while doing nothing to address the housing crisis," he said in a statement.
NDP housing critic Jessica Bell agrees, saying the plan will lead to the destruction of valuable farmland.
"Farmland and farming is one of Ontario's most productive and important sectors and it is not going to thrive if the Conservatives make it easier for developers to pave over farmland," she said.
"There are many ways that we can address our housing supply shortage and moving down the direction of expensive suburban sprawl is not the way to do it."
Developers, meanwhile, applauded the moved by the province, with the Residential Construction Council of Ontario saying the legislation will help speed up approvals of projects.
WATCH | Highlights from the province's new housing legislation:
The legislation is the latest in a series of housing bills introduced by the Progressive Conservative government geared toward stimulating housing growth.
Those measures have not yet led to the pace of home building needed to hit the target of 1.5 million homes, though the government says they just need time to take effect and for economic pressures to ease.
This comes after data revealed in the province's 2023 budget suggested the province is already significantly off-target.
The budget estimated there will be some 80,000 new housing starts — meaning "the beginning of construction work on the building where the dwelling unit will be located," according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation — per year for the next three years.
That figure would need to nearly double for the government to reach its goal, though Clark said Wednesday those numbers don't take into account the new legislation changes or the controversial "strong mayor" powers.
Ontario proposes freezing 74 provincial fees
The new legislation would give the minister new powers. If approved, Clark would be allowed to exempt subdivisions from complying with provincial policies in an attempt to prevent delays to new construction.
Meanwhile, the proposed policy would explore a cooling-off or cancellation period on purchases of newly built freehold homes, as well as a mandatory legal review of purchase agreements for all new home purchases.
The province is also proposing to freeze 74 different provincial fees, including several related to Tribunals Ontario and the Building Code that's charged by ministries and provincial agencies that "affect the cost of housing," Clark said.
This comes following the unveiling of the province's controversial Bill 23 in November 2022, which sees the freezing, reducing and exempting fees developers pay to build affordable housing, non-profit housing and inclusionary zoning units — meaning affordable housing in new developments — as well as some rental units.
Municipalities have said their own housing plans would be at risk if they were forced to foot the bill for the province's ambitious targets.
Clark had previously promised to make cities whole when it comes to the loss of that funding. He said Wednesday that the new policy changes make good on that promise.
"Municipalities want to be able to grow," he said, touting that the new legislation allows cities to streamline development processes and reduce fees.
Province undertaking 60-day consultation
Clark said this legislation doesn't touch the Greenbelt, but didn't rule out future changes beyond what he is already pursuing under a housing law from late last year.
Meanwhile, if approved, the province says it would require municipalities to co-ordinate with Indigenous communities on land-use planning "to facilitate knowledge-sharing, support consideration of Indigenous interests in land use decision-making and support the identification of potential impacts of decisions," a document outlining the new policy reads.
The province also says it will provide "equitable" access to new housing and encourage municipalities to apply an "equity lens" early in the planning process.
Ontario says it's undertaking a 60-day consultation over the proposed changes that will run until June 5.
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With files from The Canadian Press