Smiths Falls council discussing the recommendations
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is asking local government to weigh in and prioritize their top five recommendations included in the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force report.
They’ve been asked to review the document then come forth with what they feel are the most important objectives of the 74 listed.
Smiths Falls Mayor Shawn Pankow felt the report is tailored to larger cities and hubs, and failed to see its relevance to their town.
Councillor Dawn Quinn shared his line of thinking.
Pankow says staff approved 390 new residential units last year and 75 so far this year, so Smiths Falls is doing fine on its own in regards to housing density.
Council eventually submitted their response in favour to five recommendations, with a note going back questioning the reports relevance to smaller communities.
Smiths Falls council supported the following recommendations and appendixes:
Recommendation #22 – Simplify planning legislation and policy documents.
Recommendation #26 – Require appellants to promptly seek “leave to appeal” to Local Planning Appeals Tribunal and demonstrate that an appeal has merit.
Recommendation #30 – Provide additional resources to LPAT as well as mediators in conjunction with faster targets to achieve resolutions.
Appendix B – 2nd Recommendation – Legislate clear, province-wide definition of “affordable housing” to create certainty and predictability.
Appendix B – 4th Recommendation – Amend legislation to enable municipalities to include cash-in-lieu, or incentive programs to provide additional flexibility on how inclusionary zoning 1 policies are implemented. For municipalities that do not have inclusionary zoning policies, incentive or bonus programs should be offered for affordable units.
Story by Grant Deme
