Council approves six sites for affordable housing

Thestar.com
May 29, 2020
Jennifer Pagliaro

Council has approved six city-owned sites for future affordable housing development.

The decision to expedite the second phase of Mayor John Tory’s signature housing program, Housing Now, was made during a day-long virtual meeting on Thursday, the second of the pandemic.

Staff will now proceed with declaring those properties surplus and seeking bidders to develop those sites with a certain percentage of affordable housing in exchange for the land and other financial incentives, such as the waiver of development charges.

“There was no issue I heard more about in the election, nor is there any issue that I continue to hear about any more than, the need for more affordable housing,” Tory said ahead of the vote, in speaking to why the plan should be approved now.

He noted council was not signing off on any development by approving the sites Thursday.

The plan as proposed would see about a third of the units across all six sites dedicated for affordable housing -- between 530 and 620 affordable units. The rest could be developed as market ownership or rental units.

A motion from Coun. Mike Layton (Ward 11 University-Rosedale) that was also passed by council asked staff to look for ways to partner with other governments and non-profit organizations to make 50 per cent of the sites affordable housing.

Coun. Gord Perks (Ward 4 Parkdale-High Park) said he was reluctantly supporting a plan that didn’t ensure more social, rather than private, ownership of housing, where the majority of units could be sold off as private condos or rented at market prices.

“That means we give away public land forever,” Perks said.

Coun. Stephen Holyday (Ward 2 Etobicoke Centre), one of Tory’s symbolic deputy mayors, was the only one to vote against the plan in its entirety. He noted the list of sites identified by staff had only been out for a matter of days before the meeting. He also questioned moving forward with the sites now.

“I am very worried about making this decision at this time,” he said, referring to the proposed financial contributions of up to $47 million, plus the value of the land.

“Is it right to press forward on these things? Should we be not taking a pause here and just getting an accounting of what is happening in he world around us? We’re still under an emergency.”

At the meeting Thursday, council also approved a program to extend a grace period for paying property taxes -- both residential and commercial -- for those who qualify. Those looking to apply are expected to be able to do so as early as June 1.

Councillors also approved a lifeline for Toronto’s struggling live-music scene with a 50-per-cent reduction in commerial property taxes. City staff expect about 60 venues with a capacity of less than 1,500 people will qualify, costing the city just more than $1 million.

Tory successfully requested a staff report on how council can safely meet in person, and council speaker Frances Nunziata finished the meeting saying she expects the June council session won’t be online.