Here’s how we can build affordable homes in Toronto

To build new housing that qualifies as affordable, zoning rules need to be changed to allow a proper mix of housing types.

Thestar.com
Oct. 6, 2022
David Olive
OPINION

One of the oddest things about the housing crisis is that, strictly speaking, there is no shortage of housing.

What the GTA suffers, as part of a national crisis, is an acute shortage of affordable housing.

That point will be obvious to many. But it doesn’t yet sufficiently influence the proposed solutions to one of our chief concerns heading into the Oct. 24 Ontario civic elections.

For instance, the Ford government, according to an exclusive report in the Star today, is expected to announce soon after the elections the elimination of municipal developer fees for housing projects built in “exclusionary zones.”

Most Toronto neighbourhoods are zoned exclusively for single-family homes. That is a huge obstacle to building duplexes, lowrise apartment buildings and other types of affordable housing in the city’s residential districts.

But that expected Ford initiative is no solution. Given the history of gentrification where zoning has been relaxed, it would fail by not specifically encouraging new housing that qualifies as affordable.

What’s needed is the elimination of exclusionary residential zones altogether. Civic planning officials across Ontario need to reform their zoning rules to provide a proper mix of housing types.

Some potential solutions to ask candidates running for the 2022 municipal election about appear below.

We hear constantly that housing is in short supply. Yet between 2006 and 2016, growth in new Canadian housing units outpaced the increase in new households by an average of almost 30,000 units a year.

But what kind of housing does the industry build?

Largely due to restrictive zoning in Canadian municipalities, developers have long focused on high-end housing rather than the starter homes, multi-family dwellings and small apartment buildings we need.

The “starter home,” once the backbone of the North American housing market, has practically disappeared. The classic starter home is a small, detached house with 1,400 sq. ft. of space and three bedrooms. It would be priced today at about $270,000, depending on land costs, if only someone would build them.

The Ford government this year vowed to increase the number of Ontario housing units by 1.5 million over the next decade.

But that target can’t be met because the official city plans of many of Ontario’s 444 municipalities provide for too few new affordable housing units to meet the provincial target.

Many municipal councillors are swayed by NIMBYists (not-in-my-backyard) to whom they owe their jobs. NIMBYists vote, and would-be residents of unbuilt housing don’t.

These “not in my backyard” opponents to changes in their neighbourhoods deserve a hearing but not the protracted ones they typically conduct.

Since every candidate claims to care about affordable housing, don’t settle for happy talk on the doorstep and at all-candidates meetings.

Demand hard promises to which candidates can be held to account for tangible actions they will take, complete with deadlines. For example ask candidates to commit to:

Reform residential zoning now. Set a two-year deadline for all Ontario municipalities to reform their residential zoning to encourage a mix of all housing types, with a focus on affordable houses and rental units.

Reduce developer fees for builders of affordable housing regardless of where it’s built. City of Toronto fees charged to developers of detached and semi-detached houses were hiked in July to $137,000. That rules out building a starter home priced at $270,000.

Toronto relies on developer fees for about 20 per cent of its infrastructure costs.

So, lower the fees for each new affordable unit, again no matter where it’s built. Even with a lower fee, the increased number of building permits to provide for the city’s most underserved market will make up for the lost revenue and increase the number of ratepayers.

Reduce taxes on profits from building affordable housing. Developers have responded favourably to these federal and provincial incentives in the past, notably during the several previous surges of New Canadians needing decent homes.

Maybe we should bring back the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

Before it was dissolved and replaced by the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT), the OMB had the last word on approving building proposals.

The comparatively expeditious OMB had the power to overrule local zoning rules that were unreasonable.

But an OMB regarded as too powerful gave way to an OLT that is friendlier to NIMBYists and whose complex approval process can take years.

That lengthy process means it often takes longer to gain approval for a project than to build it.

In the absence of urgently needed changes, developers will continue to build monster homes and add to the forest of luxury condo towers in the GTA.

But the same people power that drives NIMBYism can be used to demand a boost in affordable housing construction that strengthens the GTA’s economic base.

And remember that housing isn’t some vague function of the economy.

Among other virtues, what’s at stake is the ability of your children to afford a starter home close to you, rather than having to seek decent affordable housing in some faraway place.