Basement apartments not solution for affordable housing: Markham mayor

YorkRegion.com
Oct. 6, 2016
Amanda Persico

Affordable housing is at the forefront of Markham’s basement apartment debate.

The province has mandated municipalities to allow second suites as a way to tackle affordable housing.

Regulating basement apartments and developing bylaws is part of the city’s ongoing comprehensive bylaw review process.

“Affordable housing is a complex issue,” said Rizaldo Padilla, a senior planning adviser with the Municipal Affairs and Housing Ministry during a recent Markham committee meeting.

“This is an option in the long list of options. Second suites is just a comma in the sentence.”

But Mayor Frank Scarpitti called the province’s move “nothing more than feel-good legislation.”

There needs to be more incentives from the all levels of government to entice developers to build affordable housing, Scarpitti argued.

“We need decent affordable housing with natural light. Not the basement of someone’s house.”

It might be feel-good legislation, Padilla said, but it’s low-lying fruit.

“It’s an entry point to make grounds in modest ways,” he said.

Allowing second suites make owning a home, especially in Markham, more affordable, he added.

And under new banking rules, a homeowner can use rental income as part of their total income when applying for a mortgage.

Based on the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, adding a second suite to a $800,000 home increases affordability by about 11 per cent.

And $900 a month in rent reduces income required to carry the $800,000 home by about $20,000, from $174,000 to $154,000.

Why are municipalities charged with cooling the housing market, asked regional councillor Joe Li, who proposed Ontario follow suit and tax foreign investors.

“Ontario should make the courageous decision instead of putting a gun to our head and say we have to do this,” Li said.

Councillors were also concerned about the added burden of second suites on municipal services such as water, libraries and community centres as well as schools. One possible solution discussed is to tax basement apartments.

Councillors also argued basement apartments devalue neighbourhoods.

Instead, basement apartments are seen as home improvements and increase property, Padilla said.

Legal and illegal basement apartments exist everywhere.

“There is one on every single street,” Councillor Karen Rea said. “I would prefer to have them regulated and know where they are.”

Residents wanting to establish a basement apartment have to apply to the city’s committee of adjustment on a case-by-case basis.

Markham is faced with two issues: dealing with existing second suits and how to shape new units, Padilla said.

The province wants municipalities to get ahead of the curve and develop second suite policies that apply across the board.

“The policy is to allow municipalities to control the issue,” Padilla said. “We understand it cannot happen throughout. But we don’t want municipalities to make it difficult to allow second suites.”

While the city does allow second suites in principle under the official plan, those policies do not translate into zoning and bylaw regulations and do not comply with provincial legislation.

SIDEBAR

Markham is in the process of a comprehensive zoning and bylaw review.

Residents are invited to a public open house, Oct. 11, 6 p.m. at the Civic Centre to learn more and share their views on second suites and the comprehensive review process.

For more information, visit markham.ca