Council to consider loosening shelter zoning rules

Thestar.com
March 21, 2019
Emily Mathieu

Toronto’s overcrowded emergency shelter system could be set for faster expansion through a change to a restrictive zoning bylaw that city council is expected vote on next week.

Council will be asked to approve a recommendation by city staff -- who are charged with finding new shelter locations and have reported being hampered by city rules directing precisely where those facilities can be set up -- to relax requirements on the distance between sites and how close those sites are to major roads.

Toronto’s emergency shelter system has space for about 7,400 people, which includes nine 24-7 cold weather respite sites, two 24-7 women’s only drop-ins, and two sites of the volunteer-led Out of the Cold program.

“What city staff have put in front of us is a very specific thing, which I think is a decade overdue. Which is to say we don’t zone people,” said Councillor Gord Perks, speaking at a planning and housing committee meeting on Wednesday.

The request to council comes with unanimous support from the committee. Councillor Jaye Robinson was not present at the meeting.

Council has committed to adding 1,000 new emergency shelter beds by 2020. Under current rules, municipal shelters must be located on a major or minor arterial road -- a street with significant traffic volume -- or close to a main street and new shelters cannot be within 250 metres of an existing shelter.

Toronto’s emergency shelter system had space for about 7,400 people. Close to 3,000 spots and the only part of the system with significant vacancy are in motels which are 82 per cent full. Men’s shelters are 98 per cent full, women’s shelters are 99 per cent full and shelters for youth are at 97 per cent capacity. An additional 989 people are using the nine 24-7 cold weather respite sites, two 24-7 women’s only drop-ins, and two sites of the volunteer-led Out of the Cold program.

Toronto is facing a $45-million shortfall after council approved an operating budget that relied on a federal contribution to support the housing of refugee claimants to fill that hole. That money was not promised as part of Tuesday’s federal budget.

Mayor John Tory said talks around accessing those badly needed funds were taking place “at a senior level as recently as” Tuesday.

Council will also be asked to amend a zoning bylaw to allow more secondary suites in existing homes, homes under construction and townhouses, which will include changes in restrictions around minimum and maximum unit size, parking requirements and the locations of exterior doors.

The recommendations followed public consultations, discussion with city staff and research across other municipalities. The committee also instructed the city’s affordable housing office to investigate the possibility of creating a secondary suite affordable housing program, through an amendment moved by chair Ana Bailao.

While the committee voted unanimously to put the emergency shelter zoning question to council, some community members said relaxing existing rules will result in a negative impact on public safety and the health of the vulnerable men and women who rely on emergency facilities. A respite site at Park Rd. and Church St., one speaker said, has resulted in an increase in trash, crime, drug-paraphernalia and community members feeling unsafe and worried about the erratic behaviours of people who are intoxicated or in distress and the people who prey on them.

Karen Marren, head of the Cabbagetown South Residents’ Association, also spoke about how the concentration of emergency shelters, respite and safe injection sites in that area have resulted in an “extreme” rise in crime, including assaults and break-ins.

“We need your help creating balanced communities,” Marren said. “Not just the residents are experiencing violence. Our vulnerable homeless population as well. Some have left fearing for their personal safety.”

Those concerns will be further discussed at council. City staff from social development, finance and administration and the general manager of shelter, support and housing will report back on the status of the first phases of a 12-month action plan meant to improve and ensure public safety in the city’s east end and surrounding areas.

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam requested the review and briefing through an amendment that also received unanimous support.

Perks, in response to the concerns raised by the speakers, said he understood that because of failures at all levels of government, including the city’s, having a shelter or respite site in any community can bring a range of issues with it. “But they are not problems that are caused by our zoning bylaws.” It is a lack of mental health and health supports and transitional and affordable housing, he said.

Earlier this month, city council rejected several motions to boost the rates of property taxes for homeowners beyond the rate of inflation, leaving an operating budget with a $79-million hole in it and several initiatives unfunded.

“Frankly, I don’t want to go to another budget debate at Toronto city council and watch us once again say that the most important thing is to keep taxes low for people who own homes so we are unable to support people that don’t have homes at all,” Perks said.