Make developers dedicate space for affordable housing: councillor
Councillor Mike Layton would like to see the province and the city back what's called inclusionary zoning.

TheStar.com
April 30, 2015
Jennifer Pagliaro

After Mayor John Tory announced new initiatives he says would increase the stock of affordable housing, a left-wing councillor is pushing ahead for more concrete reforms.

Councillor Mike Layton is asking city council to back inclusionary zoning, which would force developers to devote a set number of units as affordable housing.

Layton’s recommendations, to be considered at council next week, include staff developing a strategy for the mandatory zoning and pushing the province to allow for that kind of zoning as part of proposed changes to planning laws.

“The city’s taken a pretty clear position in the past that we’d like to have this power,” Layton said. “You might as well try to make the changes now.”

Council members and city staff have recently spoken to the dual crisis of housing — the $2.6 billion backlog in repairs at TCHC and also the more than 90,000 people currently on the growing wait list.
Layton’s motion will follow approved recommendations from the affordable housing committee — pushed by Tory alongside chair Councillor Ana Bailao,

Those recommendations, announced earlier this week and expected to be approved by council, would draw $20 million from reserves to build partnerships and also to provide incentives to developers.

Layton said he didn’t canvas Tory for support on his motion, which was seconded by Bailao. He said the recommendations from the affordable housing committee are good, but don’t deal in specifics.

“When reading the motion it talks about incentives for developers, but there’s no certainty in any of it,” he said. “We know that not all developers are going to use that and take that opportunity.”

He said inclusionary zoning would prevent the city from developing a “hodge-podge” of units across different neighbourhoods.

His motion centres on Bill C-73, introduced by Municipal Affairs Minister Ted McMeekin to make changes to provincial laws on planning and development charges. That bill is currently in its second reading at the Legislature.

Earlier this week at a press conference announcing a push to fast-track affordable housing, Tory said he had not yet considered some of the questions over introducing mandatory rules for developers to devote space or money to affordable housing.

One of the mayoral candidates this past election who pushed for such strategies, including inclusionary zoning, David Soknacki, was brought onto Tory’s transition team to advise the mayor on housing.

Tory said he hasn’t had time yet to look at some of those issues, including how developer money is spent.

But if it was up to him, Tory said he thinks some section 37 funds — which are voluntarily given by developers for community benefits — could be earmarked.

“A portion of it should be devoted to affordable housing when we have the crisis we do in this city,” Tory said.