When is a promise not really a promise?
When it’s a pledge by local government to help facilitate thousands of new homes within the next decade.
Nonetheless, Barrie councillors gave initial approval Wednesday night to endorse a pledge with a target of 23,000 new homes built by 2031, in addition to what’s already planned.
But it’s hardly written in stone, even though the pledge is a requirement of Bill 23, the province’s More Homes Built Faster Act of 2022, which calls for 1.5 million new homes built in Ontario, again by 2031.
“I just want to be on the record … to say we don’t do construction, we don’t do building, we do permitting,” said Mayor Alex Nuttall. “If developers don’t come and ask for (building) permits, or builders don’t ask for permits, after the development has been put in place (approved), we can’t control that.
“So we are making a commitment today with regards to a number that we actually don’t have control over,” he added. “Our job is to make sure that we provide an environment where there is as little red tape as possible and as much opportunity to hit the targets as possible, but not to build or construct.”
Bill 23 instructs municipal governments to endorse their housing target pledge by March 1.
City council will consider final approval of the pledge at its Feb. 15 meeting.
Only Ward 4 Coun. Amy Courser did not support the pledge Wednesday, because she said she doesn’t support Bill 23 itself.
“I don’t see Bill 23 protecting green spaces or creating truly affordable housing,” she said. “I also feel that developers should be responsible for the full cost of growth through development charges.”
Bill 23 is expected to impact development charges, which are designed to recover the capital costs associated with residential and non-residential (commercial, industrial, institutional) growth within a municipality from developers, so that existing residents don’t have to foot the bill.
Craig Millar, the city’s chief financial officer, has said Bill 23 could reduce Barrie’s development charge revenues between five and 10 per cent annually. The pledge divides Barrie’s housing target into five areas, the largest being 19,180 units based on demographic trends, from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs forecast for allocation of growth for this city.
Collaborating with development industry partners is expected to yield 3,900 housing units, second and third suites another 1,800 units, the New Foundations program (on church, place-of-worship, institutional properties) 1,500 units and 1,400 units by re-examining existing development approvals. Which totals 27,780 new homes, well above the 23,000 target.
But there was some skepticism around the council table Wednesday night.
Coun. Clare Riepma noted that water and sewer capacities could limit future residential development, and expanding these plants is expensive.
“I think we need to reinforce the fact that, somewhere, that money’s got to come,” he said. “We will proceed, but there’s clearly infrastructure requirements that we’re going to need.”
Council passed a direct motion in December to request the province fund the $250-million expansion of the city's wastewater treatment facility to aid Barrie in meeting the housing targets outlined by Bill 23.
Coun. Sergio Morales said new residential development needs to be built up as well as out.
“To get to that 23,000, we’re going to have tougher conversations with density projects,” he said.
Coun. Ann-Marie Kungl asked if the pledge was Barrie’s final word on new housing numbers.
“Is there an opportunity to open back up that pledge, or how committed are we to that when putting it in writing, versus being able to amend that based on what we know a year from now?” she asked.
“We don’t really have a choice here,” Nuttall said. “This isn’t like, ‘Hey City of Barrie do you want to do this?’ This is ‘these are your targets, you as a municipality are a child of the province. Commit to them.’
“Us opening it (the pledge) a year from now and saying it’s going to be 19,000 instead of 23,000 will be met with being disciplined by our parents, in my humble opinion,” he said.
Michael Prowse, the city's chief administrative officer, noted Barrie’s pledge includes the gaps, things which are beyond the municipality’s control. They include provincial approval of Barrie’s new Official Plan, which designates land use, the actual building of approved housing units, availability of skilled development talent and the state of the economy.
“We are simply saying to the province … we believe the goal is attainable,” Prowse said of the pledge. “There certainly are challenges on the road, but we are certainly one of the municipalities that is incredibly well-positioned to partner with the province in this goal.
“The province has 'volun-told' us to do this.”
The Ontario government says it has committed to building 1.5 million new homes during the next decade. Bill 23 is part of a long-term strategy to increase housing supply and provide attainable housing options for Ontarians and their families, the government has said.
