BILD’s Live and Interactive Industry Conversation with Minister Jeffrey

On Sept. 20, BILD hosted its first-ever Live and Interactive Industry Conversation with a special guest, the Honourable Linda Jeffrey, MPP Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The event took place bright and early at The Royalton. Breakfast was served to the 400 or so BILD members in attendance, and then it was down to business. The panel of professionals conversing with Minister Jeffrey consisted of BILD Chair Steve Upton of Tridel, BILD President and CEO Bryan Tuckey, OHBA President Lieth Moore of Sorbara Development Group, and OHBA Chief Operating Officer Joe Vaccaro. The conversation was moderated by BILD First Vice Chair Steve Deveaux of Tribute Communities.

The conversation revolved around a variety of topics, including the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), development charges, and parkland policies.

The OMB

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the OMB’s role in the industry. Some believe that the OMB too often sides with condo developers and homebuilders, and some believe that it is a necessary force to battle the politics controlling municipalities.

Minister Jeffrey said that local councillors are torn between getting votes and making the hard decision to support something that many locals may not want. Increasing densities is a significant move for a municipality and a panel of experts like the OMB is necessary.

On the surface, the problem is with the OMB, but Jeffrey made a good point, saying that what the city really needs is an updated set of policies for developers to follow when submitting an application. A better understanding of what is allowed in each ward would lead to fewer OMB hearings.

Jeffrey also stated that she is open to suggestions from the building and land development industry. In fact, it is partly the industry’s responsibility to come up with ways to improve the application and approval process, and even educate the public about the OMB and how development in the city functions.

Development charges

Development charges are fees that developers and homebuilders pay to the city for each project. The amount of charges depends on the number, type, and size of the units in the development. The money is supposed to go towards neighbourhood infrastructure to account for the growth.

Over the past couple years, some cities have dramatically raised their development charges, or at least proposed a raise. The scary thing about raising development charges is that it will affect the affordability of the units. If it costs more to build, it’ll cost more to buy.

Jeffrey believes that the solution is all about balance. The City and the industry need to work together to find a way to keep housing affordable while also ensuring that the municipalities have sufficient funding to continue growing and moving forward.

According to Jeffrey, the formula for development charges is evolving. She wants to find that balance, as well as make the charges more transparent. People, within and outside the industry, should know where the money is going. We’re not talking a few thousand dollars, we’re talking tens of millions every year - and how that money is being spent is vague.

“When something is dysfunctional, you have to be brave enough to pull the band-aid off,” said Jeffrey. She continued saying that there is “nothing crazy planned” and the City has no desire to destabilize and entire industry.

Parkland policies

At every site, parkland policies come into play. Depending on the space, the developer or homebuilder is responsible for creating a certain amount of park space, or at least paying a fee for the park space that they don’t create. One of the main issues is that each municipality has their own way of handling parkland policies, meaning that there is no one Parkland Policy, and developers and homebuilders are often slowed down by this process.

Jeffrey agrees that it is definitely time for a refresh of the parkland policies. She said there are a few municipalities that have been stepping up and working out agreements with developers that benefit the projects and the neighbourhoods in which they are built, but there are also many that are not. Jeffrey believes that an overarching set of parkland policies for all municipalities to follow needs to be developed. We know that this is already underway because we were seated with a few Ryerson University Urban Planning students who are currently working with the City to develop this set of policies.

Once again, Jeffrey said that she and her office are open to suggestions from the industry, and would welcome any other conversations on these topics.

In conclusion

Basically, there’s a lot of stuff the industry and the City need to discuss. The Live and Interactive Industry Conversation with Minister Jeffrey did a great job and highlighting some of the main issues that are in need of tweaking.

Jeffrey didn’t really offer any detailed solutions, but if she had them, then there wouldn’t be a need for the conversation. She did a good job at embracing the industry’s concerns and acknowledging that there are flaws in the system. We are really looking forward to seeing if BILD’s event leads to a few changes in the way our city develops. Perhaps we’ll see a few industry members step up in the following months and tackle some of these significant issues.