Will amendments to the Growth and Greenbelt Plans worsen affordability issues?

Former mayor of Mississauga, Hazel McCallion, recently released a call out to Premier Kathleen Wynne, requesting that Wynne meet with the mayors and chairs of the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) to discuss the proposed amendments to the Growth and Greenbelt Plans.

The GGH population will grow by 4 million over the next 25 years, and municipalities are concerned that the amendments to the Growth and Greenbelt Plans will restrict growth and further fuel the housing affordability issue across the region.    

Last fall, McCallion hosted a summit with municipality leaders, where they reviewed the proposed amendments and concluded that the changes were too prescriptive, calling it a one size fits all approach to a region with drastically different needs from one area to the next.

“The Premier needs to hear first-hand the concerns and recommendations of the mayors and chairs, as the municipalities are the implementers of the Government’s Plans and have to make the local planning decisions,” says McCallion. “As it stands now, the mayors and chairs do not fully support the Province’s Proposed Plans. They are too much, too fast, with an unrealistic one size fits all approach.”

The municipalities are concerned over the increase in the intensification rate and density target, the lack of financial planning and research on the economic impact, the lack of alignment with existing transportation and other infrastructure plans, the lack of a transition plan for work that’s already underway, and lack of a clear process to address areas that should be added or removed from the Greenbelt.  

“The Proposed Greenbelt Plan has, laudably, included major urban river valleys to protect water. But there are still some lands that have not been included that should be protected, and yes, there are also lands still in the Greenbelt that should not be,” explains McCallion. “The first iteration of the Greenbelt mapping was sloppy and was spoiled with political decisions. This is the time to initiate a fair and transparent process to review lands with infrastructure that could and should be used to affordably support growth. The Province cannot ignore these opportunities and force municipalities to waste millions of dollars of investments, already made by the taxpayers.”

With new low-rise prices hitting record highs and new condo prices beginning to soar to unprecedented highs, there is clearly an affordability issue in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). McCallion and many chairs and mayors fear that if the proposed amendments are finalized, it will push the dream of homeownership out of reach for more prospective buyers.

“As it stands now, people are having a tough time finding a home they can afford. While everyone weighs in on why house prices are so high and how to fix the problem, it is clear that the consequences of the Proposed Plans will lead to an even greater housing affordability crisis by creating ground-related family housing only for the rich, while everyone else will be forced into apartments or condominiums,” says McCallion.

So, is it up to the industry to figure out a way to manage homebuyer expectations and start planning higher density housing projects, or should the province try harder to accommodate the concerns of municipalities and the new home building industry?

It’s likely not one or the other; there must be a middle ground where municipalities are comfortable with the changes and the province is protecting enough land and allowing for inevitable growth.

We recently interviewed Ben Myers of Fortress Real Developments to get his two cents on some of the market cooling strategies in the media these days. We’ll soon have a few more Q&As from industry leaders, voicing their opinions on the cooling strategies.