Building industry raises concerns over recent Ontario government housing decision

The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) says it is “extremely disappointed” with the recent announcement by Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Paul Calandra, and calls it a setback for the Greater Toronto Area’s GTA future housing and employment spaces supply.

“It can take a decade or more to bring new housing supply to the market,” says Dave Wilkes, BILD president and CEO. “(This) announcement to introduce legislation that, if approved, will rescind regional official plans and reverse urban boundary expansions in the regions of York, Peel and Halton. It will make the objective of building 1.5 million homes in the province by 2031 impossible.”

Extensive consultation process

The housing affordability crisis in the GTA has been driven by the lack of housing supply in the face of perennially strong demand, BILD says. The official plans for York, Peel and Halton made additional land supply available through urban boundary expansions to enable the addition of housing and employment spaces with a mix and density consistent with what the market is looking for. Repealing these official plans will put regional and municipal decision-making relative to new development into a state of confusion, uncertainty and paralysis. The repercussions of this unfortunate decision will effectively delay the addition of new housing and employment spaces throughout the next decade.

“It is our understanding that the provincially approved official plans were subject to an extensive and exhaustive transparent public and stakeholder consultation process, which included postings to the Environmental Registry of Ontario,” says Wilkes. “Any adjustment made to the approved plans by the government were done to uphold the provinces’ own objectives for increased housing supply, choice and balanced growth. Given the precedent of these decisions and the variability of government decision-making, why would any business choose to invest in the province?”

As much as five years or more of work and millions of taxpayers’ dollars went into the development of the regional official plans through the municipal comprehensive review process, BILD says. The recent announcement sets the addition of housing and employment spaces supply in Peel, Halton and York back decades and the forward-looking impacts of this will be felt by prospective new-home owners for the rest of the decade.

BILD says its members remain committed to working with all levels of government to achieve the provincial objective of building the 1.5 million homes this province needs to accommodate present and future growth.

WEHBA objection

Similarly, the West End Home Builders' Association (WEHBA) also objects to reversal, fearing it will undermine future housing supply and contribute to a further exodus of young families leaving Hamilton for neighbouring communities.

The provincial decision to repeal multiple Official Plans, including Hamilton, "will put the entire new housing approval process into a state of confusion, uncertainty and paralysis," says WEHBA CEO Mike Collins-Williams.

WEHBA participated in the review of Hamilton’s Official Plan by submitting recommendations through the Environmental Registry to the province, focusing on achieving the goals of the provincial Housing Affordability Task Force. The association notes the Official Plan submitted by City of Hamilton’s planning staff was based on outdated Growth Plan projections that envisioned a rate of housing growth of 3,500 new homes per year, over the next 10 years. By the time the Ministry was reviewing the Official Plan, it had become clear that Hamilton’s required rate of new home construction was closer to 5,000 new homes per year to keep pace with Ontario’s population growth.

“Our recommendations put forward the need for an Urban Boundary Expansion, as was first recommended by City of Hamilton professional planning staff and their consultants," says Mike Collins-Williams. "Our submission also focused on reforms to the City’s intensification processes, including an ability to further intensify along all transit corridors and eliminate an arbitrary 30-storey height limit. The need for Hamilton’s Urban Boundary Expansion was clearly identified by planning experts as necessary to accommodate population growth and limit the continued displacement of residents to neighbouring communities.”

When presented with that data, City Council hired Watson and Associates as a third-party peer reviewer of the information City staff had brought forward. This review confirmed Hamilton’s need for an Urban Boundary Expansion, which Council chose to ignore, WEHBA says. A City of Hamilton staff report noted that, “Under a ‘no expansion’ scenario, nearly 80 per cent of all new households would need to be accommodated within apartment units, including families,” and that “the No Urban Boundary Expansion scenario was not modelled in the Land Needs Assessment because it did not meet provincial planning policy requirements and was not considered to be good planning.”

The Council adopted No Urban Boundary Expansion resulted in an identified shortfall of 60,000 units, and limited intensification opportunities in significant ways, including a city-wide height limit of 30-storeys. WEHBA says it provided recommendations to the province that were similar to the ones it provided the City of Hamilton – recognizing that an urban boundary expansion is necessary, while also eliminating the height limit and significantly reforming Hamilton’s approach to intensification moving forward.