Burlington Supports Majority of Housing Affordability Task Force Recommendations & Prioritizes Getting More Shovels in the Ground for Affordable Units
On Oct. 16, I sent a letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Hon. Paul Calandra, to accompany City of Burlington's response to the Housing Affordability Task Force (HATF) recommendations (see a copy of the letter and City response further down this post). On Sept. 15, Min. Calandra wrote to the heads of council in Ontario explaining his ministry would be conducting a review of the HATF recommendations and asked we provide:
- their position on the 74 recommendations (support or oppose);
- a prioritized list of the top five recommendations;
- suggestions on revisions to implemented recommendations; and
- advice on how some recommendations could or should be implemented with amendments.
The City of Burlington supports 60 of the 74 recommendations and our top priorities are related to getting more shovels in the ground, especially for affordable and attainable housing units.
See below the full approved motion at our Oct. 5 Council meeting, My Take, supporting documents and some additional background.APPROVED MOTION:
- Receive and consider CS-17-23 as Burlington’s draft response to the Housing Affordability Task Force’s Recommendations inclusive of Appendices B and C, for purposes of preparing the Mayor’s response to the request from the Honourable Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; and
- Direct Community Planning and Government Relations staff to support the Mayor in preparation of the final response to the Minister prior to the October 16, 2023 deadline.
MY TAKE:Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) will be putting forward a consolidated position to share with the upper levels of government and we’ve asked all of our member municipalities to share their submission to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing with OBCM so that our OBCM staff can determine where the points of commonality are with respect to which recommendations are being opposed and not opposed. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s (AMO) submission provided a good sector-wide response related to what recommendations it opposed and not opposed, as well as some commentary – and that is critically important.
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To read the staff report and related supporting documents, please click/tap the links below:
- Response Letter from Mayor Meed Ward to Minister Calandra: Letter to Minister Calandra - Oct. 16, 2023
- City Response to HATF Recommendations: City of Burlington Response on Housing Affordability Task Force Recommendations
- City of Burlington Key Ideas Advice for Implementing Recommendations and Alternative Approaches
- Documents from Oct. 5 Council Meeting
- Staff report: CS-17-23 City of Burlington Response on the Housing Affordability Task Force Recommendations
- Appendices:
BACKGROUND:On September 15, the Honourable Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. wrote to the heads of council throughout Ontario explaining that his ministrywould be conducting a review of the Housing Affordability Task Force’s (HATF) recommendations. The letter is attached as Appendix A to this report. As part of this review the Minister has asked for the heads of council to provide:
- their position on the 74 recommendations (support or oppose);
- a prioritized list of the top five recommendations;
- suggestions on revisions to implemented recommendations; and
- advice on how some recommendations could or should be implemented with amendments.
A response has been requested by October 16. Responses not received by that date will disqualify municipalities from being eligible for the Province’s $1.2 billion Building Faster Fund, announced at the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s Annual Conference in August.In December 2021, the province assembled a nine-member task force, which included representatives of the development industry, the real estate industry, professionalplanning consultants, financial institutions, and housing advocates. Their mandate as outlined by the Premier in his announcement was to explore measures to addresshousing affordability by:
- increasing the supply of market rate rental and ownership housing;
- building housing supply in complete communities;
- reducing red tape and accelerating timelines;
- encouraging innovation and digital modernization, such as in planning processes;
- supporting economic recovery and job creation; and
- balancing housing needs with protecting the environment.
The HATF released their final report in February 2022. The report included 74 recommendations for how the housing crisis could begin to be addressed in Ontario.Addressing the housing crisis is a shared responsibility and the City of Burlington is committed to doing its share to support the creation of more housing and more diverse housing options within Burlington. Collaboration and partnership with the Province and its Ministries, the Region of Halton, property owners, the development industry, residents, stakeholders and a wide range of agencies and institutions will be required to move forward. The City’s approved Housing Strategy and Housing Pledge not only demonstrate our commitment to creating more housing but outline how the City together with our partners will deliver this new housing.RELATED LINK: