Doug Ford's new housing plan would put taxpayers ‘on the hook’ for the cost of growth: Richmond Hill mayor warns

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 10, 2022
Sheila Wang

Ontario’s new housing plan would deal a blow to the city’s revenue, leaving taxpayers to bear the cost of future growth, Richmond Hill Mayor David West said.

West responded to the Ontario government’s More Homes Built Faster Act in a statement Nov. 1, a week after winning a re-election by a landslide in the October municipal election.

West said he recognized the urgent need to build affordable housing in Richmond Hill but noted the importance of accomplishing the city’s own goal of building “complete, livable and sustainable communities” through its official plan.

The sweeping legislation, tabled in the legislature Oct. 25, is designed to streamline the construction of new housing and help address the housing shortage in Ontario, the provincial government says.

Under the package of legislative changes, developers would see reductions, exemptions or freezes on the development charges, parkland charges and community benefits charges for certain types of new buildings such as inclusionary zoning units, non-profit housing, and rental construction.

These fees are the primary revenue tools available to Richmond Hill and other Ontario municipalities for funding growth-related capital costs. They reduce the overall burden on the taxpayer.

The City of Richmond Hill collects development charges from developers for new development and redevelopment of land, which will pay for infrastructure and services to accommodate the growth such as roads, water mains and sewers.

“Without the province providing alternative financial support to compensate for any lost DC revenue, the city and taxpayers will be on the hook for future growth-related infrastructure cost. This situation is not acceptable,” West said.

In Richmond Hill, the city anticipates more than $340 million from development charges to fund its upcoming 10-year capital plan (2023-2032), according to the statement.

The mayor said that the proposed reduction on parkland and community benefits charges from the builders will “negatively impact” the municipality’s ability to provide future amenities and infrastructure services to residents as well.

“Providing adequate parkland is important to our residents and therefore must be protected by the legislation,” he said.

West said he’s also troubled by the proposed change to the role of conservation authorities in the legislation.

The changes proposed to the Planning Act and Conservation Authorities Act would “diminish TRCA’s well-established role in protecting our communities from flooding and supporting our municipalities in protecting the natural environment,” Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) said in a statement.

The Progressive Conservative government introduced these changes in order to meet its goal of building 1.5 million new homes across the province over the next 10 years.

As one of the 29 municipalities assigned a housing target by the province, Richmond Hill is expected to add 27,000 new homes by 2032, according to a technical briefing.

Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark said Oct. 25 there will be no punitive measures for cities that don’t meet the targets.

The new legislation has received support from Ontario's building industry. The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) lauded the housing plan as the “clear powerful transformation” to solve the housing supply and affordability crisis.

West said Richmond Hill has already undertaken a number of these initiatives, such as permitting up to three residential units on one property as accessory suites, as part of the Affordable Housing Strategy, which includes financial incentives to increase the supply of affordable housing.

“Each municipality in Ontario is unique and has a different set of challenges and is at a different developmental stage. It is crucial for adequate opportunity for municipalities to provide feedback on their concerns before this legislation is passed,” the mayor said.

In Aurora, Mayor Tom Mrakas, who also took issue with part of the legislation, said in a statement: “I don’t agree that a one-size-fits-all approach is the way to achieve it,” while listing six areas of concern.

Toronto Mayor John Tory also voiced his concerns about the financial impact of the legislation regarding the reduction of development charges.