Council approves plan to address Ottawa’s housing crisis

Councillor's comments

On Wednesday, I attended a joint Planning and Housing and Finance and Corporate Services committee meeting on the topic of housing policy.  I have been a strong advocate that the current housing crisis is a principal cause for affordability and quality of life issues, and we need to ensure that our young professionals are not priced out of the community.  I am well aware that Barrhaven residents are wary of Ottawa’s housing policies, given the imbalance of residential growth in Half Moon Bay (which amongst local frustrations has been a retail desert for many years).  

Make no mistake – my housing priority is to see BALANCED development – this means that we build houses, but that we are at the same time ensuring that the roads, utilities, schools, healthcare, retail, jobs, etc. are also growing at the same rate and time.  We are currently out of balance.  Much of that reason is that it is far more financially viable for a developer to acquire expansion lands in the suburbs and build high-density low rise than it is to build vertical high rises inside the greenbelt.  We need to fix that.  I am focused intensely on setting the conditions for this so that Barrhaven is not bearing such a disproportionate load in terms of growth when a healthier city building process would see more intensification in the downtown and along the LRT.   

City of Ottawa press release

Council approved a new comprehensive plan to help deal with Ottawa’s housing crisis. 

The bold strategy approved by Council will change how the City approaches housing, removing obstacles and using all available tools to support building more homes. It builds on changes the City has already made or is working on, like speeding up planning reviews and allowing smart intensification, particularly near transit, through updates to zoning rules. The plan has five main objectives: 

• Simplify the rules and make approvals faster

• Create a housing-friendly culture at City Hall

• Be more flexible with fees and charges

• Better support affordable housing

• Build more homes downtown and near transit

About 40 per cent of the actions in the plan will be brought into effect immediately. Those actions include: 

• Reducing Community Benefits charges for five years 

• Deferring collection of development charges until occupancy

• Allowing for reimbursement of additional fees for non-profit affordable housing projects 

• Using pre-set building designs to allow expedited building permits 

• Deferring, reducing or waiving select Cash-in-Lieu of Parkland (CILP) charges for 18 months, while the City completes a review of its CILP policy 

Council moves to next steps for LRT upload

Council passed a motion requesting that the Mayor and the City Manager enter into negotiations with the Province of Ontario regarding the upload of LRT. Any deal would require fairness for Ottawa taxpayers and be consistent with deals reached in other Ontario municipalities. It would require the Province to maintain accountability and transparency for Ottawa residents. It would also require the Province to consult and collaborate with the City and OC Transpo on the planning, design, procurement, construction, delivery and operation of Stage 3 LRT to Kanata, Stittsville and Barrhaven. the Mayor and the City Manager will report back to the Finance and Corporate Services Committee on the status of their discussions as key milestones are achieved.

Council approves Ottawa Community Housing Corporation’s mortgage refinancing 

Council approved refinancing mortgages on five Ottawa Community Housing Corporation properties to generate up to $133 million in additional funding. The funds will be used to make much needed capital repairs and to support energy efficiency improvements. The refinancing will be revenue-neutral because up to $6 million from the existing operating subsidy will be redirected to service the loan annually, avoiding the need for additional taxpayer funding. 

Ottawa’s social housing stock is a valuable public asset and preserving it is critical in the current housing crisis. This move helps ensure deeply affordable housing remains viable and well-maintained for low-income residents, while using existing investments to fund needed repairs. The refinancing supports the City’s commitment to maintain 16,502 units of rent-geared-to-income housing, with OCHC providing more than 12,000 of those units.