Increasing housing supply is not the only solution to affordability: Richmond Hill Mayor David West

Mayor David West made the statement in response to the province’s Bill 109, the More Homes for Everyone Act

Yorkregion.com
April 7, 2022
Sheila Wang

Richmond Hill council welcomes Ontario’s commitment and efforts to address the issue of affordable housing, and will continue to make progress on implementing the city’s affordable housing strategy.

Mayor David West made the statement in response to the province’s Bill 109, the More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022, that was tabled at Queen’s Park on March 30.

The bill outlines actions to address the province’s housing crisis, including introducing changes to municipal land use planning processes.

The proposed legislation would require delegation of site plan control decisions from municipal councils to staff and would apply to all applications received on or after July 1.

“While there are positive measures in this legislation, I want to reiterate that increasing the housing supply is not the singular solution to creating affordable units,” West said in his statement on March 31.

There are currently over 11,000 units approved by the city that remain unbuilt by property owners and developers, he added.

An Ontario Association of Architects study concluded that for a 100-unit condominium apartment building, each additional month of delay costs an estimated $1,930 a month for each unit.

“To see results, we need to look beyond the municipal approvals process. This is a complex challenge and more needs to be done to provide our residents with affordable choices,” the mayor said.

In March, the average home price in Richmond Hill was at around $1.6 million, ranking the fourth most expensive in the Greater Toronto Area, according to Zolo, one of Canada's most popular national real estate marketplaces.

According to the bill, municipalities would be required to refund developers’ fees if they don’t decide on site plans within 60 days. If they miss that deadline, half the fee will be returned to the developer. If the decision goes past 90 days, the developer gets back 75 per cent and, after 120 days, the entire fee is refunded.

The provincial government is also introducing a new tool to help municipalities accelerate their own planning process -- the community infrastructure and housing accelerator -- for housing and community infrastructure, such as hospitals and community centres.

A municipality would be required to pass a council resolution and submit a formal request to Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark in order to access the new tool.

Critics of the province’s plan say it will lead to more delays while not producing needed housing supply.

The plan came after a housing affordability task force released a report in February offering 55 recommendations, including a goal of building 1.5 million homes in 10 years.